


The Captain and the Pilot

by E_Panda



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 36
Words: 91,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26224267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/E_Panda/pseuds/E_Panda
Summary: Emma Swan is about to finally drive her first actual space ship, she had trained for months for this, what could go wrong. Maybe perhaps a certain Brunette....I would like to thank my editor and artist, thank you for helping me out, I don't think this would have made it up otherwise.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32
Collections: Swan Queen Supernova V: Forever Starstruck





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Captain and the Pilot](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26199025) by [TheConscienceThing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheConscienceThing/pseuds/TheConscienceThing). 



Emma’s Diary Entry One:  
Age: 21  
We’ve been told keeping a diary is a good way to stay sane when one is hurtling through space at light speed. I’m not on the spacecraft yet but I got bored and decided to start writing in my diary now. I have worked long and hard to be where I am today, sometimes not of my own volition. My Godfather owns the company I am about to start working for and I have been training with since I was twelve. It was hard work growing up under his ignorant gaze.  
My parents went missing on a mission to a rebel base that allied with the enemy and never returned. My godfather has spent years trying to locate them. He promised me he would never stop looking for them. This promise may have been to a six-year-old me, whilst I was disorientated and worn out after crying when he told me what happened, but it still counts. He also had tears in his eyes that day and it was the first and last time he has shown me any kind of real emotion. He closed himself off and kept his distance.  
I used to blame myself for never being good enough for his attention, but as I learned more about him over the years, I realized it was just who he is. He keeps everyone at a distance and only speaks when needs be. I soon also discovered that being his goddaughter meant that I couldn’t slack off for a second. I once handed in a late assignment in my first year training to become a pilot. He made me go without food and took away all privileges for two weeks. Which meant, no TV, no reading, and under no circumstances can anyone other than him and my bodyguards/babysitters/best friends Ruby and August talk to me until I redid an entirely new essay that pleased him.  
Ruby and August were Twins my godfather took under his wing when he first worked for SRDSP (Storybrooke’s research and defense space program). They too had been orphaned by a mission gone wrong. It was my godfather’s first mission and he watched as the twin’s father was gunned down in the street. Their mother hadn’t made it as far as the father and the twins. My godfather had taken care of them as they escorted them to safety.  
He mentioned to them about the SRDSP younger cadets program. They had agreed to give it a try rather than ending up in the system. He had made arrangements for the twins to be in his custody so they could go to the SRDSP boarding program. He had watched them grow up and as soon as he knew they were ready they became his protectors/right-hand man and woman. They were incredible soldiers but one thing I have always wanted to ask them what it was really like… out there. I just never was able to pluck up the courage, perhaps because I suspect the answer would not be reassuring.  
It seemed strange because they made up most of my childhood. They were only about nine years older than me but they were my best friends and sometimes my worst enemies too. They had to wrangle me though my teenage years which was… rocky, to say the least. I had a lot of pent up frustration that would usually be unleashed on the two of them. I was lucky they were so great with me because honestly I think any other 23 years old would have run a mile if they had some 14-year-old screaming in their faces and throwing piles of books at them.  
When I was becoming stressed with my studies, they were the only people I had who talked to me properly. They would sit me down and help explain things to me. August would make me a hot drink (usually a hot chocolate with cinnamon) and Ruby would tell stupid jokes in hopes to make me laugh my stress and anxiety away. They were like my brother and sister except there was no blood between us.

Anyway back to the more pressing matters…  
Today is my first day as a member of my godfather’s top-ranking segment. The Baelfire, which is the fastest spacecraft in the world… supposedly.  
I have had to take additional training to be able to fly it but I think it’s going to seem like a breeze. One of the nicest things my godfather has said to me was ‘you fly like the ship is a part of you. I haven’t seen talent like yours since I trained your mother’.  
At the time it helped to know I was like her in some way. As I grew wiser I realized, that was the reason she was in piloting the spacecraft that was sent over enemy lines.  
After much consideration, I decided that if I wanted to find my parents, I was going to have to put myself in danger. My godfather told me any good soldier has to be willing to be killed in action, in fact, it was the greatest honor in his eyes.  
In mine, however…  
I much rather stay alive. It was almost unheard of for a pilot of the Baelfire to live past 50. The only one who had made it past was Leroy… He hit 52 this year. My godfather threw him a welcome home party a year ago when he returned almost unscathed. Leroy didn’t turn up. I asked him why the next day, whilst he was unpacking his belongings from three boxes. He had carefully folded up his clothes and strategically placed small mementos into the right places.  
“I wanted to be alone, it’s a lot to get used to again… Being back on earth, I hadn’t realized how much I had missed it until I opened the door to get out. I was… A little overwhelmed and needed time to get used to being back and having normal gravity again. Think jet lag but your entire body needs to catch up with itself, not just your sleeping pattern. Also, I’d feel guilty celebrating when so many of our soldiers died on our mission...it’s them who the party should be thrown for…not me.”  
Leroy had handed in his resignation letter not long after because he wanted to go home and spend time with his family. His kids were almost adults now and he hadn’t seen them in eight years. His eldest was 16 and the youngest 14. I had met his wife, she looked at her kids, the way I wish my godfather would look at me. I’m lucky to get a smirk of him. This is why I always tried hard to make him proud. I was slowly coming to terms that it would never happen.  
The Baelfire hasn’t seen the skies in over a year now. I was destined to be its next pilot. Even the thought of flying the fastest ship in existence is making my stomach feel unsettled. Still part of me takes pride in knowing I am among the small percentage of pilots who would actually bring the ship into battle.  
The first model was piloted by my godfather’s friend. He flew it into battle, ready to defend his planet and within seconds was brought down.  
The idea was scrapped until my mother convinced my godfather to do a rebuild with her improvements and let her fly it. For years she was the pilot of the new and improved Baelfire. My godfather built in a homing device, hoping it would help locate the crew and ship if anything should happen and send them back to earth. The ship returned, the crew along with my parents didn’t.  
Leroy was the last in a long line of pilots after her. He was an incredible pilot but through the years he slowly became more and more depressed earning the nickname Grumpy from the crew. He would watch as his friends and colleagues died as they flew into battle. He reclined into his shell and was faced to play the tough man too many times.  
Well, I’m about to leave earth for a good few years to fly to the big space base in the sky. I’m not sure how well I will deal with not being able to go outside but I guess I will find out. For now, I’m planning to make the most of it. As I sit here writing, I’m leaned up against my favorite willow tree. The sun is out and the birds are chirping. The baby blue sky is clear from clouds and thankfully the willow branches and leaves are creating a cool shade. It’s one of the few spots that I feel relaxed in. The other one is my living quarters. I’m going to miss having my own space.  
I’m also going to miss how peaceful it is here…

Chapter one  
Emma showered quickly and pulled on her freshly ironed dark red jumpsuit. It was the last time she would be wearing it before switching it out for her new colour…Orange. It was one of her favourite colors but she wasn’t looking forward to wearing it.  
She quickly collected her stuff together in her rucksack and made her way back into the large intimidating building in front of her. Otherwise known as her home. She sighed to herself as she slung her bag on her back and walked through the large glass doors. She looked around the lobby as she moved towards the cafeteria, hoping to get some breakfast before Ruby or August came to retrieve her for her last class before she set out. She had actively been avoiding them so she didn’t have to deal with emotions that she knew would hit her when she saw them.  
Just as she had seated herself down at a small table and began eating her bacon bagel, August appeared opposite her. His mop of dark brown hair was un-brushed, but his mandatory navy blue jumpsuit was neatly pressed with precision. He smirked at her as she looked up from staring at her plate. She rolled her eyes at him and stood up, bagel still in hand, and grabbing her disposable cup filled with coffee. She hadn’t slept all too well the night before. Her sleep had been taken over by gut-wrenching nightmares of the next day and what it might mean for her future. She was used to the nightmares about finding her parent’s graves and witnessing their deaths. She couldn’t quite remember their faces, the only photo that her godfather had given her when they passed was the only reason she knew what they looked like. It didn’t mean that she wasn’t terrified by them but last night was different.  
It had been filled with horrors about what might happen the next day. Her pod malfunctioning and sending her to the wrong ship or worse just floated off into space or even worse than that exploding. The beasts she might encounter on her travels that she heard tales about since she was tiny.  
Some even swore there was a ship full of an alien race that went by the name Denemits. They were sly, cunning, and were said to be ruthless killers. This was the ship Emma's parents had tried to infiltrate and were most likely killed in the process.  
It was Emma's biggest target…  
There wasn’t much about them in the books, she had read religiously. She only knew of their existence because her godfather had warned her of them. He had told her that there were some species out there that would do anything to take control of the solar system.  
Emma had asked others about the ship but they all just gave her a look that told her they believed her to be a grieving child that had decided to bother them. So all in all the only thing she knew about the Denemits was that they might not even exist. She was willing to die to find out what happened to her parents that day they had disappeared.  
Emma and August made their way down the large, empty, and cold corridor. Emma took in a shaky breath. August stopped for a second.  
Emma carried on trying to pretend that she hadn’t noticed he had paused. Knowing he was going to ask her the question she had been avoiding all day. She was right.  
“Kid… Why are you doing this?” He asked her. Emma paused on the spot and turned to face him, thinking over her answer. After taking a deep breath, she told him the only thing that made sense.  
“I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try to find them. They were practically international heroes and no one even knows what happened to them. I owe it to them to find out.” She said to him, trying her hardest to control her emotions. It had only just seemed to hit her that she was getting closer to her goal. Once she was on the ship her only plan was to find them or die trying.  
He nodded but still didn’t move. He shuffled uncomfortably on the spot, giving away the fact that he had something to tell Emma. Something she didn’t want to hear.  
“Spit it out August, I have a class to go to.” She said trying not to sound snappy but her nerves were getting the best of her today. August nodded quickly and looked at Emma who readied herself.  
“Your godfather informed us last night that Ruby and I are to come with you as part of the crew for the Baelfire. He believes it would help you to have people around that you can speak too about sensitive matters” He said, the look in his eyes told Emma that he knew what her reaction would be.  
“Meaning even in space he can keep an eye on me. You’d think by now he would realise I’m not at risk. Just when I thought I was about to flee the nest, the nest decided to follow me. I mean don’t get me wrong I love you guys to death but even you have to admit you didn’t see yourselves becoming my babysitters. I know that you two were heading for great things before my Godfather put me under your protection.” Emma chuckled slightly trying to cover up how annoyed she was by her godfather's lack of trust in her. She knew he was a stubborn and tough man but sometimes his over protectiveness pissed her off to no end.  
“Honestly Emma, I can’t speak for my sister but I can’t think of any other job I would rather have. I mean sure it was a tad bit intense now and again. Especially when you were going through your rebellious patch and it was my sister and me getting it in the neck because of you. All in all, it has been the most gratifying job I could do. Seeing you grow up to become the best pilot SDRSP has ever seen, has been pretty fucking awesome kid. I always believed you could do it. Even if I was worried you would knock all your brain cells loose every time you hit your head on the desk when you fell asleep whilst you were studying.”  
Emma could hear the emotion in his voice. It made her slightly uncomfortable and a little sappy. So to make sure August didn’t notice her change in demeanour she turned away quickly and rushed into the lecture hall. She could hear August chuckle at her before she went through the doors. She mentally punched herself for letting him see her vulnerable. It was not something a good soldier should show.  
She took her seat at the back of the large hall. She was sitting next to two guys, one who was bragging to his friend about some poor girl he had managed to hustle into his bed the night before. Emma couldn’t help keep an ear on the ridiculous conversation. They seemed to be oblivious to her being there, which was fine by Emma. As he exaggerated how much this girl enjoyed his company the night before, his friend laughed like a pig getting strangled.  
Then the laughter suddenly stopped. Emma looked at the two guys and they were staring at her. She immediately regretted taking a seat next to them.  
“Hey there, haven't seen you around here before, you a transfer baby?” The overly confident one asked her, the tone of his voice putting Emma on edge. It made her skin crawl, the way they were looking at her.  
“I’ve been going here since I was twelve…” She said sneering at his choice of noun for her. She was hoping he wouldn’t pursue it further. Clearly not, as he leaned in towards her.  
“I don’t think so, I would remember you,” He said obviously trying to woo her.  
“Well, it’s true.” She said to him, trying to make him realise she wasn’t falling for his ‘charms’. He just smirked at her and sat back in his seat.  
“So, what’s your name, green eyes?” He asked her. Emma sighed heavily, she really wasn’t in the mood to have to deflect his efforts that morning. She knew she was being slightly rude but all she wanted was a quiet morning to gather her thoughts before being hurled into space.  
“I’m pretty sure you should know how to read,” She said, pointing at her mandatory name badge that read ‘Swan’ on her left shirt pocket. 

“Your Mr. Gold’s goddaughter Emma. I have to admit I’m disappointed we haven’t met before.” He said still for some unknown reason thinking he had an in.  
“I’m definitely not, this is bad enough,” Emma said hoping her bluntness would push him away.  
Nope, wrong again…  
He put an arm over her shoulder, instantly making Emma feel uncomfortable.  
“Come on, don’t be like that,” He said in a smarmy voice. Emma used her forefinger and thumb to pick up his jacket sleeve and moved it from her shoulder. She just glared at him and wished more than anything she could say what she wanted to say. But she knew that wouldn’t end well for her. The guy seemed to get the message turning away from her muttering something that sounded like ‘ Stuck up bitch’. Emma shrugged off his profanity, she was used to the response. She thought after the first few years it would be a known thing that she wasn’t into dating anyone but obviously this guy had missed the memo.  
She turned her attention to the professor as he began his last lecture to the class of almost graduates. The class dragged on as he droned on about the laws of the universe and that they needed to remember how to conduct themselves as part of the SDRSP. As the professor concluded the last part of his dreary mundane speech something he said pulled Emma’s attention. He was talking to them about some of the scenarios they may come across in their travels through space.  
“The enemy may beg you for their lives. It’s your job to make sure they don’t get to keep them. Even if they are down on their knees begging you to not kill them… You must give them no mercy” The professor told them.  
It struck a chord with Emma, she hadn’t spent much time thinking about what she would do if someone was to surrender. But the professors' words had stayed with her as she walked into her room to get ready for the launch/graduation party. She rolled the idea around in her head and always came to the same conclusion. If it was protocol to kill said person then maybe it wouldn’t weigh on her mind. She hadn’t had much experience in the field. She had watched her godfather as she was growing up and knew what it took to be the kind of person who could handle the job at hand. Still, she had butterflies.


	2. chapter 2

Chapter two

Her whole life had been leading up to this moment. For the first time in her life she was to board a space shuttle and leave the planet she was born and raised on for god knows how long. She was going to miss earth and it's endless supply of fresh air. She knew from her training how cooped up it was on the SRDSP largest crew ship. Sure it was quite a monster of a vessel, but it held about a million personnel and this means shared rooms unless you ranked high enough to be given your cabin.   
Emma already longed for her cabin. She wasn’t at all excited about having to share space with maybe two or three other people. Sure now and again she would socialize a little but mostly she kept to herself. Not trusting anyone to want to be her friend, from past experiences she knew most of them only talked to her because of whose goddaughter she was. She did want friends badly but now it was harder to let down the walls she had secured around herself after years of people treating her differently because she had ‘connections’. She was going to have to suck it up for at least four months as she completed her probation period. After that, she had a chance to move up the ranks and secure herself a private cabin. It was most likely going to be grueling but it didn't put her off. It had been her life's ambition to be able to play her part in the battle her mother and father most likely died for.

She walked out of the lecture hall still feeling a little anxious about the day ahead of her. To make matters worse as soon as she walked out she was jumped on by Ruby who was a ball of excitement that morning. 

Ruby hugged her tightly, her long brown hair found its way into Emma’s mouth. She blew away the offensive pieces of DNA and sighed a little annoyed. She knew Ruby enough to know she wouldn’t take notice of stubbornness. August shook his head at his sister and pulled her off Emma who silently thanked him, he read her mind because he gave her a quick nod coupled with a small smirk. 

“Sorry, I’m just so proud of you kiddo. I can’t believe you're about to set off into space. I’m so excited we get to come with you” Ruby said almost bouncing on the spot.

“Thanks capitalize Ruby ruby, means a lot. I’m kinda a little glad you guys are coming too. I don’t want to have to deal with the others by myself. It’s reassuring I will be able to see you guys still.” Emma confessed knowing she would find it easier to get accustomed to living somewhere else if she had her best friends with her.

“So I was thinking, I know you always say no to me, but could I please give you a makeover?” Ruby asked Emma, a look of pure anticipation on her face. Emma shook her head.

“How did I not see that coming?” Emma said in disbelief looking at a laughing August. “Why are you so obsessed with painting my face and messing with my hair. No matter how much you try, I refuse to turn into a ‘girl’. It doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest.” Emma said, trying to make her point. 

Ruby just continued to look at her with her blue penetrating eyes that cut through Emma’s will. She knew that look enough to know when to give up. That look was usually followed by days of Ruby ranting and the odd snippy remark. 

“Fine, but come anywhere near me with nail varnish and I’ll hit you, hard!” Emma said as Ruby did a little gleeful jump, squealing like a kid who's had too much sugar. August put a hand on top of Ruby’s head to stop her bouncing. Ruby batted it away and scowled at him. Emma chuckled at them as she watched Ruby jump on August’s back. August started spinning around making Ruby scream. Emma was laughing at them wondering how these two ended up working for her ‘straight-faced,can’t take a joke’ godfather. 

She shook her head at the siblings and watched as August stopped and Ruby jumped down. Almost falling over, she tried to steady herself but still managed to almost topple forward. Emma had to catch her before she face-planted the floor. Ruby went to steady herself on Emma’s jacket pulling at the collar of her uniform jumpsuit.

The brown-haired woman tried to straighten herself up but still was unsteady on her feet and fell slightly into Emma who chuckled and wrapped her arm around Ruby’s shoulders, placing her other one around the much taller August. 

They made their way over to Emma’s bedroom to get ready for the launch. As they walked through the courtyard with the sun glaring down on them. Emma spotted a woman maybe a few years older than herself, sat up against a tree reading a book that looked like it had a picture of a werewolf on the front. 

For some reason, this pulled Emma’s attention. It was rare to spot someone who seemed to enjoy reading for pleasure. Her gaze trailed on the woman, who must have felt Emma’s eyes on her because she looked up from her book and looked directly at her. At first, she looked wary but for some strange reason, she smiled at Emma.

Now usually, smiling is a normal response if you caught someone’s eye. But no one ever smiled at Emma, because of who she was. Emma was used to people looking away from her. Those who kept her gaze wanted something from her. However, Emma felt that this woman’s smile was genuine. And it made Emma do something she had never done before...smile back. 

For some reason, even as the woman went back to her book, Emma couldn’t take her eyes off her. Ruby and August must have noticed she was distracted but said nothing. Though it could have been because they knew what would happen next. 

Emma, who was at this point lost in her thoughts, walked straight into a lamp post. 

Her chest had made impact first followed by her forehead before she fell backward with a heavy thud as her back and head made contact with the concrete path. 

She woke up a few minutes later with Ruby. August and to her surprise, the woman by the tree staring down at her. All of them were laughing at her, not just a small chuckle either, full-on belly laughs. 

She looked around at her wobbly surroundings that wouldn’t quit moving. She noticed that everyone else was also staring at her, either sniggering or looking at her like she was a total prat. Which was probably true at this point.

She tried to sit up and shook her head a little trying to shake away her concussion. All of a sudden a flash of pain went down her spine, she winced as a steady hand pushed on her shoulder and held her gently to the floor.

“Moving probably isn’t the greatest idea right now. Sit tight, the nurse will be here in a minute.” The woman said looking down at Emma who closed her eyes to block out the high afternoon sun that shone brightly behind the woman. 

“Ow,” Emma groaned and took a deep breath that hurt her chest a little. 

“Yeah, I heard that happens when you walk into lamp posts,” The woman said to her chucking. Emma opened one eye to glare at the woman who was making fun of her. Ruby and August were behind her in hysterics, not being helpful in the slightest. “You should have seen it from where I was sitting. It was like it happened in slow motion.”The woman grinned at her, laughter reaching her eyes.

Emma opened her other eye hoping to convey more anger in the woman's direction. Instead, she got caught up in the women's chocolate brown eyes as the light danced off them. She knew she was being weird by staring but to her surprise, the woman just smiled at her softly. Her hand was still placed on Emma’s shoulder and for some reason, it was keeping Emma calm.

She would be freaking out because a concussion meant a delay in her adventure into space. At that moment though, as she was entranced by this woman’s eyes, and smile she couldn’t help but feel peaceful. Her stomach felt a little unsettled and her head felt like someone was repeatedly bashing it with a rock, but she was okay.

Erin smiled back at her sheepishly, knowing she looked like a complete fool at that precise second, not knowing what to do with herself.

The woman eased up a bit more on her shoulder but kept her hand rested on Emma, so there was no chance she would move. Emma continued to stare at the woman. Her eyes are unable to focus well. Her head felt woozy and she was seeing everything in doubles.

She could almost make out the woman's face but couldn’t quite see her. She knew she had dark brown hair that was neatly cut and styled and fell just below her shoulders. It covered up the woman's name and unit number, much to Emma’s dismay.

Just as Emma was trying to remember how her mouth worked, the nurse came looming over to her. The woman disappeared quickly from Emma’s sight being ushered away by the nurse.

The nurse was a tall, scary-looking woman who had perfectly slicked-back hair. Held in a tight bun at the back. Her face looked like she had been sucking on lemons just before and she wore a bright white nurses uniform which made Emma’s sensitive eyes hurt and she was forced to close them. 

“Stay awake you silly girl.” The nurse said as she started laying out the stretcher. August came over to lend a hand, his face still red from laughing. 

The nurse secured the stretcher beneath Emma and lifted it slowly with the help of August. As she was being carried away she could hear the woman ask Ruby something but she was too far away to make it out.


	3. chapter 3

Chapter three

She was put through tests and scans which she hated. She was dosed up on something that made her head and back numb but also made her brain feel fuzzy and made it hard to make sense of anything

At one point she had pointed at a potted plant in the corner and was adamant that it was a person. Ruby thought it was hilarious, August wasn’t as impressed.

She finally came around properly a few hours later when they eased up on her meds. She had woken up late that afternoon with a pounding headache.

A young male nurse, who was working as an apprentice to the scary nurse, came over and handed her a glass of water and a couple of painkillers. She took them gratefully and popped them into her mouth, sipping her water slowly. 

“What time is it?” She asked him politely. He smiled at her nervously and glanced at his watch. 

“Eight, Miss”, he said with a slight stutter and then scurried away to see the other patients.

A woman in a fancy looking pantsuit walked over to her holding a clipboard. She looked like she was the kind of person who didn’t feel empathy or sympathy. Her face resembled a weasel ever so slightly and her dark eyes looked over the other patients on the beds with no emotion, she stopped at the foot of Emma’s bed. 

“Hello Dearie, I just needed to pop over for you to sign this form for me”, she said putting the clipboard on Emma’s lap. The woman pulled out a pen, holding it out obnoxiously to Emma, who had to stop herself from sneering at the pompous prick.

“What is this?” Emma asked, suspicious of the woman. For some reason, something told her to not trust her.

“Legal stuff, your bill.” The woman said dismissively. Emma’s jaw dropped.

“I thought my godfather was footing my bills?” She was confused by the papers in front of her. “I can’t afford… how much!” Emma almost shouted looking at the four zeros that followed the number five. “ You want me to pay five grand for having a concussion!”

“No, we want you to pay five grand for caring for you whilst you were concussed.” The woman said to her like she was stupid. Emma looked at the page then back at the woman.

“I don’t have that much credit saved up,” Emma said a little pissed off that her godfather hadn’t even visited her. He could have at least paid the bill. He knew she wouldn’t be able to pay that much. Every other time she had gone to see the doctor he had covered it. 

“We will take it in installments. It will be taken out of your wages. Four hundred for ten months.” The woman smirked at her. Emma thought the numbers through in her head.

“That would leave me with 375. How and I meant to be able to live on that. Even the showers are ten credits each.” Emma was baffled by the bill in her hands. “ There's no way” 

"There is a way, it's called spending wisely." She said unfazed by Emma's rage. Emma looked at the woman gobsmacked, unable to comprehend the fact that she just lost more than half her money because she walked into a lamp post. 

"Is there any other way to pay? No secret funds left I dunno something I could sell. I hear some of the spiderman comics I own are pretty rare." Emma said wondering how she even managed to walk into a lamp post in the first place. 

The woman shook her head and sighed, seeming bored and a little annoyed that Emma hadn't signed yet. 

"No, a few bits of paper with pretty pictures isn't going to save you. Now sign before I call someone who will happily explain why you're going to pay, otherwise we will arrest you and have you put to trial." The woman said a little viciously. Emma just huffed and scribbled her signature on the paper, selling her soul to the devil. She flipped off the woman as she walked away, glad to no longer be able to see her evil glare. Emma let her head fall softly against her pillow. She winced as her tender head hit it. 

"Shit" Emma groaned to herself as her head slowly eased once more. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on something else. She recalled the woman in the courtyard. Her soft smile and dazzling brown eyes, the way the sun caught her face when she laughed at her. 

It was strange to Emma, she wasn't usually one for getting distracted by people. The odd strange looking cloud or tiny fluffy animal maybe but she tried to usually avoid making eye contact with most people. 

She had come to discover over the years that she was more attracted to women than men. She had gone on a few dates and not all of them completely sucked but the ones that didn't usually end up making her uncomfortable. 

She hadn't had any experience with women but that was due to mostly bad social skills. The only reason she had dated anyone at all was because Ruby kept setting up blind dates. She hated it but the woman was unstoppable. It wasn't until Emma got up the courage to talk to Ruby about it, that she stopped doing it. 

"I don't want another date. Every single one so far has been terrible. I was either bored to death or felt so awkward that I spent the entire time wishing I hadn't gone." Emma told Ruby who looked like Emma had just slapped her in the face. 

"What, I thought you got along well with a couple of them. You and Graham seemed to get along well." Ruby asked, baffled by Emma's reluctance to having a boyfriend. 

"Yeah, because we spent most of our time talking about how awful blind dates were and went to an arcade instead. I mean we pretty much lost each other straight away but I did make friends, whilst I was drunk… with a few of the barmaids. I was meant to go back but sober me wasn't as confident. I mean talking to them was the most memorable moment of the night. That's a sign of a bad date, I would rather be dating one of them. " Emma said hoping Ruby would get the hint. 

Ruby had been deep in thought for a while, so Emma had gone back to working on her paper. She was hoping it wouldn't take long for Ruby to come to the right conclusion. There was a long pause in the conversation. 

"Ah… It makes sense now" Ruby said suddenly after thinking it over. She had finally realized what Emma was saying. Emma, who jumped a little in surprise, chuckled at Ruby. 

"Sorry I haven't said anything sooner I was waiting for a good time…" Emma said before being engulfed in a hug. Ruby pulled away with a smile on her face. 

"So my matchmaking skills ain't terrible, your just gay! So should I set you up with ladies" Ruby asked excited at the prospect, whilst Emma was looking at her like she had lost it. 

"No Ruby, I still hate blind dates, that hasn't changed. I wanna meet a girl my way." Emma told her, knowing if she didn't stop her now it would mean Ruby would book up every weekend. Some weekends Emma preferred laying in bed, finishing her work, and watching TV. 

" Emma, you barely talk to anyone. The entire time I have known you, you never once approached a stranger, let alone talked to one of your own will," Ruby said, exaggerating slightly but Emma understood what she meant. 

"Exactly, if I get enough courage to approach her then I will know it's worth it. You know me, it takes a while for me to buck up the courage to get over my anxiety. I will know it's the right person when my courage outweighs my fear." Emma said she had thought a lot about it all and she knew this felt right. Ruby nodded, she looked proud but slightly sad that her matchmaking days were over. 

" Cheer up Ruby, you can focus on your brother instead. I'm pretty sure he needs as much help as he can get in the dating department." 

August was the first person to know Emma preferred women. August had a thing for being able to read her. On the day she had finally decided to tell them, he had been sitting with her at lunch. She must have been doing a crappy job of hiding her anxiety because he was giving her a strange look. He finally confronted her, wondering why she was being so quiet and had been staring at her lunch for the past ten minutes.

“ Emma, I know something is up with you. You know you can tell me anything.” He said to her as she looked up at him, confused and out of sorts. She was quite a little longer as she gathered her thoughts and conjured up some courage. 

“August, I think I’m into women. I mean I’ve never kissed or ever been slightly romantic with a girl. I just don’t feel like I would be comfortable with a guy. I can picture myself with a woman but when I think of being with a dude… It does nothing for me. It took me some time to figure it out. I thought I was just weird for a while but I realized I was just looking at it all the wrong way. I was worried about telling the two of you because I didn’t know what to say. I guess the only thing I can say is I think I’m gay. Although, it would have been weird just to blurt it out. I had to make sure that was it before telling you” Emma said probably faster than most people could comprehend, lucky August was used to her nervous ramblings and understood every word. 

“Kid, you don’t need to worry about that with us. We're family, if you need our support with anything we're always here to help you. Next time you are feeling confused and spun out remember you can talk to me anytime. What use are Ruby and me if we don’t know how to help you? In all honesty, I’ve just kinda been waiting for you to work it all out by yourself. I had my suspicions but I knew you needed to come to our conclusion about it.” August said with a light chuckle. Emma had given him a confused look. He smirked at her before saying “ You were overly obsessed with a lot of actresses. Ruby would comment some dude's jawline and you would point out how awesome some woman looked in a pencil skirt. You don’t like wearing skirts so…” 

Emma grinned at him, her face betraying her before she could defend herself. He laughed at her and tapped her shoulder roughly.

“You took so long my lunch is up” He had said laughing as he stood up and went back to work.


	4. chapter 4

Chapter four

Emma went back to sleep after a while, hoping it would make her headache go away. She was awoken a few hours later by a loud roaring noise that shook the ground a little. She didn’t know what it was for a few scary moments, too shaken but by the abruptness of it. Then she remembered what day it was her graduation, she was meant to be on that shuttle. Years of building up to that moment and here she was lying in a hospital bed. She felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She failed her parents and to top it off August and Ruby had gone without her. 

Just as her eyes started to well up a little, she heard the door to the ward open and in walked August and Ruby. Ruby ran towards Emma’s bed, almost landing on top of her. 

“Emma, you're awake, finally.” She said just about saving herself from landing in Emma’s lap. 

“I thought you guys were meant to be going in the spacepod?” Emma asked, relieved to see them. She leaned up to hug Ruby, just as August got to them. Emma quickly pulled him into the hug. “I’m so glad you're still here.”

“Couldn’t leave you behind, kid, also as soon as you were admitted we were pulled in to talk to the chief. Told us that we had to stay put until you were better.” August explained to her. Emma smiled slightly hoping that meant she was still able to go into space. 

“Does that mean…” Emma asked hoping he would tell her what she wanted to hear. He smirked at her and nodded his head. 

“Did you believe we would leave you behind?” He asked her, laughing a little. “We've been looking after you since you were nine and you thought we wouldn’t at least even say goodbye first?” He said, chuckling a little at her. Emma looked down at her hands embarrassed. She didn’t think her uncle would have let them stay. She was surprised he hadn’t come down here with them to tell her how stupid she had been and shout at her for missing graduation. 

“So am I going to be able to get on a shuttle at some point or am I stuck here because I’m not to be trusted?” Emma asked them. They both chuckled at her.

“I mean August and I do have our concerns, but the chief said you are going in a shuttle as soon as the doctors give the okay,” Ruby said laughing at Emma who was relieved that her training wasn’t going to go to waste. 

“Good, so had he said anything else?” Emma asked curiously if they knew the reason he wasn’t going to pay her hospital bill. 

“He was a pretty pissed kid. You being out of action means the mission has been postponed. There is a crew of fifty waiting on you getting better.” Ruby said her tone telling Emma she was in trouble. 

“Crap, even the Captain?” Emma asked knowing that it would mean she was going to have to watch herself. To her surprise, August and Ruby started to chuckle again.

“I have a feeling she will forgive you,” Ruby said with a smirk, confusing Emma a little. Surely it had made her captain angry. She barely has been in the crew for a day and she's already messed up big time. Emma hadn’t even met her captain, there's no way they would be cool with her already being a nuisance. 

“Yeah, it was pretty hilarious but seriously, you should watch where you're going.” A familiar voice said. Emma looked over at the door where the voice had come from. She saw the woman from the courtyard standing there. 

Emma could now just about see her tags, as the woman approached her. She could see the words Captain clearly beneath her name tag which read R.Mills. It took Emma a few minutes to realize what this meant and was utterly and completely embarrassed. Emma stayed quiet for a few minutes as the captain joined her friends. Emma was trying to make the rising shade of red disappear from her cheeks. She played with a piece of loose cotton trying to stable her emotions at that moment. 

“Don’t talk much do you?” The woman asked her in a light, teasing tone. Emma was still a little overwhelmed by waking up in a hospital bed and finding out she just knocked herself out in front of her captain. Emma looked up slowly towards them. 

“Sorry I delayed the mission ma’am. It will not happen again” Emma said in the strongest voice she could manage at the moment in time. The woman smirked at her use of the noun ma’am. 

“Please don't call me ma’am. I am in no way old enough to be a ma’am. I prefer to be called Regina or Captain .” Regina said to her, helping that Emma wouldn’t be taken back by finding out who she was. She had heard about Emma way before she had been put in her crew. She knew how much potential she had. It was Regina’s job to get Emma to be the best pilot she could be. 

“Sorry, Ma’am… I mean Regina… I mean Mills.” Emma stuttered, not sure what to do with herself or her mouth at that moment. She was usually bad at talking to people but for some reason, Regina had her more flustered than usual. Emma had an inkling of what the cause was but that was probably going to make it a whole lot harder for her to focus. 

Regina chuckled at her and so did August and Ruby. Emma could read it on their faces too that they knew what was happening in Emma’s head right now. 

“It’s okay dear. We have a lot to work on together. I hope me and you will become close friends otherwise we might come across a few problems later on.” Regina told her, seeing Emma squirm a bit. She knew it would take some time for them to work perfectly as a team but she hoped this young woman would be the pilot that the Baelfire has always needed.

“Well I must leave for now to go calm down the rest of the crew and properly explain what happened but I will be back tomorrow. Make sure you rest up Emma, we need you in good shape so we can leave as soon as possible.” She told Emma who went even more read when Regina called her by name. For some reason, Emma decided she needed to salute her and quickly realizing what she had done when it was too late. Regna gave her a smirk as she tried to hide her laugher and then in one fell swoop turned around and walked out the room. Emma’s gaze followed her the entire time. 

“OOHHHH, Emma’s in trouble,” Ruby said as August laughed at the look on Emma’s face. 

“What do you mean, she seemed okay with it all to me?” Emma said, still looking at the place where Regina just was, then looked at Ruby and August who were both grinning at her. “What?” She repeated.

“You know what,” Ruby said in a teasing tone before August tapped her leg.

“Good luck with that one kid,” He said to her leaving Emma more confused and a little annoyed at the pair of them. “ You sure do know how to pick them.”


	5. Regina Diary Entry

Regina’s Diary Entry One:  
Age: 26

I always thought keeping a diary was a little bit outdated. I guess it’s a nice way for one to express emotions without being judged. I’m not usually one to show much emotion in my day to day so I guess this method of articulating them is better than having a breakdown and screaming at my crew.

I’ve only been back on earth for a month but I can't wait to get back out there. This place holds too many bad memories for me. 

It's not like I don't enjoy having fresh air and gravity but coming back here feels like some is clutching onto my heart and as they let go I'm going to fall apart. 

It's the first time back here since it happened. Back then I was carefree and didn't worry about much at all. Until I saw my fiance lay dead on the floor. 

It had all happened so fast my brain couldn't keep up at first. Daniel and I had been visiting my mother. We were telling her that by the end of next year we were going to get married. She hated the idea properly because she hated Daniel. Ever since I got with him she's never been quiet about her disapproval.  
Sure we might have come from a background of rich snobs who were all set up by their parents so they all married correctly but that just wasn't me.

I don't know much about my family's background. My mother always refused to talk about it. My father would tell me snippets about him but also said he wasn't sure about her mother. 

Mother was always vile to be growing up. She was competitive and abusive. She wanted me to grow up and be the leader of SRDSP. Her and Rumple, the current leader, had been fighting for the position since they were young. She had let go of the fact she wouldn't be able to become the leader and instead tried to ensure that I would be instead. 

I'm all for healthy competition but there was nothing healthy about the way my mother competed. She constantly wanted me to study, so I had no friends and no time to myself. Once I had gotten an A- on a paper and she had shouted at me and beat me hard until she got her 'message' across. 

Anyway, this day had started as one of the best days of my life. Daniel and I had been dating for almost two years and we were so in love. We would spend as much time together as possible. Mother at first tried to pull me away like with most things she felt would spoil my reputation but I stayed put. And she hated it. 

Daniel and I had been sitting in our favorite field cuddling and watching as birds flew past us. We had been on the same crew since day one and had made friends with each other instantly. We slowly grew together naturally and our bond was almost unbreakable. One of our favorite things to do was come to this field and pretend that it was just us. 

This night was a little different than most, Daniel had been acting strange all day. He seemed nervous about something and wouldn't tell me what. He was quiet as we sat in the field together.

I was desperately trying to get him to talk. After a while, once the sun was setting he turned to face me with a soft smile on his face.

"Stand up Gina" He had asked me his voice was shaking a little. 

"What for?" I was completely confused about what was happening. 

"Just stand up, please," He asked me again, this time I did as he said. He then reached into his jacket pocket as he got down on one knee and pulled out a small black leather box. 

"Regina Mills, you are the most incredible, intelligent, and beautiful woman I have ever met and I would be so grateful if you would marry me." He asked her, Regina was shocked by his sudden proposal. In all honesty, I thought he was going to break up with me. I remember being frozen to the spot. 

"Gina?" Daniel had asked me quietly, trying to get me to respond to him.

All I remember was realizing what he had just asked me and then grinning like a mad man before tackling him with a hug that made us both fall in a heap on the floor. 

A few days later we told my mother that we were engaged. She seemed calm but I knew her well enough she was waiting to get me on my own before she berated me for my decision.

It did not take long that night when me and Daniel were about to head off back to the base. She had asked him to go wait in the car while me and her talked.

"How dare you," She said to me in a hushed rage. "How dare you say yes to marrying that… that wretched man. You're a disgrace to this family Regina. You need to tell that boy you're not going to marry him or else…" She said, her voice rising slightly in anger. 

I had recoiled away from Mother and her rage. It scared me a little. Years and years of abuse had conditioned me to fear my mother. This time however I didn't back down. 

"I will not leave Daniel, mother, I love him. He's the only reason I was able to do so well in my exams. If I didn't have him I would have nothing," I told her, feeling brave for the first time in my life. Daniel was the only happy thing in my life.

"If you refuse to leave him then so be it, but just remember whatever happens from now on is your fault. I warned you," my mother had said to me before pushing me out the door and slamming it in my face. 

I walked soberly to the car. I could tell Daniel knew what had happened and he never asked me what she had said. He was good like that, he always knew me well enough to know when to ask and when not to.

That night whilst I was sleeping Daniel must have had trouble sleeping and went on a walk. It wasn't an unusual habit, now and again he would do it to clear his head. Only this time when I woke up he wasn't there.

I began to panic straight away. By ten o'clock that morning I had tried to call him on his mobile over a hundred times. Every single time it would ring out and go to the answer the phone. His phone must have died after that because after a while it went straight to answer the phone. 

Totally shaken by this I finally decided to go look for him. I got dressed in a rush not really caring what I threw on. I rushed out and began to follow the walk he would usually take. 

I walked through the courtyard towards the small forest area where he loved to walk at night. I followed the usual trail through the thick trees. It didn't take long before I found his body lying at the end of the trail. Blood surrounded his body which was white as paper. I ran as fast as I could to him calling his name over and over again. Knowing I wouldn't get a response but wishing for a miracle. 

It never came… 

I'm not sure how long I was there with him before someone heard my cries but out of all the people to find me it was Mr gold.

He must have heard me whilst he was making his way to his office. He had slowly approached me. I hadn't heard his footsteps at first but as soon as I did my head whipped around to see him standing not far from me. 

"Regina, what are you doing out here child?" He had asked me, seeming unfazed by the fact that I was covered in blood and was sitting beside my dead fiance. 

I remained quiet, not sure what to say. Mr gold slowly walked closer to me and looked down at Daniel's body. 

"Such a tragedy, he was a bright boy. Come with me, I will send for a nurse to retrieve his body." He had said to me almost emotionless. His reaction, or no reaction, made me uncomfortable. I didn't want to leave Daniel alone. He might have been dead but I didn't want him to have to suffer more. In my eyes, it had become my responsibility to make sure he was treated right. 

Daniel didn't have any family and I knew that if I didn't do something that no one would. 

"Come on now Regina, you can trust me. I've known you since you were a babe in your mother's arms. I would never do anything to harm you." The way he had said it made me trust him. I'm not sure why but I got up silently and walked over to him. 

I looked at the ground for a few moments before saying to him. 

" I want to make sure he had a good burial, he was a good man and he would have made an excellent husband. I ask nothing more than that… Mr gold." I asked him before lifting my head to meet his eyes. He nodded and held out his hand to me. With one last look at Daniel's body, I grabbed hold of Rumple's hand and we walked back to his office. 

That day will always be stored in my brain. To this day I see my fiance's body lay on the forest floor. Pale and lifeless. 

Mr. Gold had kept to his word and held a magnificent funeral for Daniel. Our entire crew was there and Mr. Gold himself. 

Curiously, there was one person I didn’t know that stood beside Mr. Gold–a small, meek teenager, she seemed sad. Did she know Daniel? I had never seen her before. I could see pain in her eyes. For one brief moment, our eyes met and something shot between us. 

It felt like our emotions had rolled themselves together and for that one second, we were connected somehow. We never spoke a word to each other, after that day we never crossed paths again. 

Until today…


	6. chapter 5

Chapter five

Regina sat in her cabin. It was all new to her; she had barely spent any time in Storybrooke since the incident a few years back and it still to this day made her feel like she was drowning. 

It was numbed by time slightly but still felt raw to her. She was glad that she had the distraction of Emma and her clumsy incident but was worried what the next few days, maybe even months, might bring for her and her unstable emotions. She did hope the girl would make a fast recovery not just for Emma or her crew but also for herself because she wasn't sure how long she could spend her without losing herself in her past.

She tried to busy herself as much as she could. She visited her crew and even Mr. Gold who had seemed to get even more bitter than he once was. She had tried her hardest not to blame him for what happened to Daniel but after what she had found out it was difficult. 

Once she had visited Emma everything seemed to close in on her.

For the next few days, she found it hard not to get more and more anxious and snappy but it was useless. Her crew already saw her as the bad guy and this new persona she had taken on was not helping. 

One day as she was making her way to see how much Emma had recovered she had bumped into Hook who was meant to be boarding her crew with Emma but obviously with the delay had been held back like the rest of them. She knew this boy was bad news from the transcript Gold had sent her on her new crew members. 

He didn't seem anything more than a player and deviant to her. She had no idea how he had made it this far but he must be good for something if Gold had let him on her crew. 

"Watch out would you kid. Would it? hurt for you to slick that unwashed hair out of your eyes once and awhile ."She had said to him He looked at her like she had two heads. 

He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but soon shut up as soon as he saw her badge. 

"Sorry, Capitan won't happen again." He had said to her in a way that just aggravated Regina more. 

"Kid you want to watch that tone of yours around me, I might not be able to fire you but I sure can make your life a living hell on that shuttle if that's what you desire." She told him not in the mood for his foolishness. 

"Haha you can't fire me, I'm the only person alive that knows how to navigate your ship. Without me, you'd disappear into the next galaxy." He said to her with a cock grin on his face. Without thinking about it Regina grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and held him up against the wall. 

"I could replace you within minutes, Hook. Don't think for one second you're safe. Got that. " She said getting close to his face so that he would see the anger in her eyes. Just before he could reply Gold rounded the corner. 

"Miss Mills I think it is in your best interest to leave that boy alone. Not only will it tarnish your almost unblemished record but It might also start rumors in your crew you'd rather not have flying about." He said as he sauntered up to them. 

Regina instantly let go of him and heard Hook mutter something along the lines of "best not upset the crocodile now shall we?" Before scampering off back to where he came from. 

"Sorry sir, the kid was pushing my buttons," Regina said hoping to keep this interaction down to a minimum. 

"I could see that Regina. Best not let your emotions get the best of you. We all know how that goes. Wouldn't be the first time you've threatened someone at least this time it didn't end up with a huge mess for me to clean up." He said to her. She knew exactly what she meant and hated that he held what she did to her father and mother against her. She hadn't any other choice. She never thought it would end up the way it had. 

She regretted what she had accidentally done to her father every day of her life and even though she hated her mother still in some sadistic way she missed her.

All she could do is nod at Gold and turn to carry on her way to Emma. She had heard that she was recovering fast and hoped that within the week they would be heading into space. She missed her cabin on the shuttle that was filled with her familiar belongings and held no negative memories that could entice her brain into becoming its twisted self.

It wasn't like she had any control over how she dealt with things. Her emotions were always so overwhelming and sometimes the battle to keep them at bay was one she wasn't strong enough to fight. 

She quickly made her way toward the hospital bay knowing that it was the distraction she needed right now. 

As she walked through the hospital doors she saw a much better Emma was looking. She sat up in bed talking to her friends. 

She must have spotted Regina as she came in and gave her a soft smile before realizing that Regina wasn't smiling and did not at all look happy. 

Her face fell immediately. It was strange to Regina but the presence of Emma helped her keep her emotions controlled. Every time she saw her face she saw the young girl who had shared her emotions on the day of Daniel's funeral. 

She couldn't explain what she felt when it came to Emma. On one side she saw the woman who flew through her pilot exams and would be one of the best pilots SRDSP had ever seen but she also saw that girl who had locked eyes with her at Daniel's funeral and made her feel like her feelings were validated. 

"Hey, Captain is everything okay you look a little down," Emma asked her when she finally got to her bed.

Over the last couple of weeks, Emma had come out of her shell around Regina she could finally see the young enthusiastic, intelligent woman behind her sober, muted mask.

She knew what it felt like to want to hide from everyone around you. This was another reason she and Emma got along so well. 

She knew it might not last long when they officially became pilot and Captain but she savored it while it lasted. She didn't want to get too close to Swan, she knew how that went up there in the stars. 

She just smiled at the young blond girl and sat in a chair that was free beside Ruby. 

"I'm okay kid, more concerned about when you will be up and fighting." She said to her trying to grab onto any kind of enthusiasm left in her body. She could tell Emma knew something was up. She didn't push on it though. Not while Ruby and August were there at least. Emma just smiled at her. 

"I should be in tip-top condition in just a week Captain. I'm being signed off today and my last checkup is next Friday to make sure my bruising has gone down and there is no long term brain damage." Emma smiled at her like a dork. "Why, are you itching to get back up there Miss Mills?" She asked Regina with a cheeky smile playing on her lips. 

"Of course Miss Swan, I love my job," Regina said unable to stop herself smiling at Emma. 

"Is that what you're calling your mild-control issue these days, a job?" Emma said teasing Regina who just scowled at her but could help the faint smile that came to her face. 

"We will see how funny you are when I'm really in control. I bet you'll be thanking my control issues then." Regina said in retort. Emma just chuckled. 

"I guess we will just have to see," Emma said secretly hoping she and Regina could stay friends.

"We need to be heading off Emma. Chief wanted to chat with us." Ruby said to her standing up. August gave her a strange look before Ruby elbowed him. He realized what she was trying to do and stood up also. 

"Yeah um… Something about making sure the rest of the crew is um…" August said Trying to help but making a complete mess of it. 

"Just go you, dorks, I'll speak to you soon," Emma said to them knowing what Ruby was up too. 

They hugged her before leaving Regina and her alone. Emma and Regina sat in quiet for a few moments. Regina was so glad that Emma was getting better. The sooner she got back to the shuttle the better. 

"Is it me or can those two be super weird sometimes," Regina said to Emma who nodded. 

"Yep, they've always been a bit on the strange side. Maybe that's why I am so close to them. I think if I had some uptight jackass nanny looking after me I would have been a total brat. I'm glad I have those two." Emma said fondly, thinking of how her life would be without them. 

"That I can understand. I was brought up with nanny's and I have to say before I…" Regina started to say before cutting herself off. She was going to say before she had met Daniel but couldn't bring herself to let Emma in on such an intimate part of herself. 

Over the years she had built up a shield around herself blocking everything and everyone from getting close to her. She was finding it increasingly harder to keep her shield up around Emma.

Emma was confused by Regina's sudden pause. She wasn't sure what to do. Regina's face had flipped from calm to anxious in just a manner of seconds. 

"Regina it's okay, tell me if you feel like you want to, but don't feel like you have to say anything to me about your past. I understand." Emma assured Regina not to want her to feel uncomfortable or pressured. 

She knew what it was like to not want to share her personal life with others. Sure she had August and Ruby but to Emma, it looked like Regina wasn't close to anyone. 

"Thank you," Regina said but stayed quiet. She sat in thought for a few minutes. "You know you're the first person in a long time that I've talked to that hasn't dismissed me as a complete... bitch." 

"Yeah, I wonder why that is?" Emma said to her sarcastically. Now and again whilst getting to know her new captain she could understand why people would see Regina as a bit of a hardass. Now and again the woman would be on edge and those days she was difficult to communicate with. 

Emma, having grown up with her godfather, knew how to communicate with someone who was emotionally closed off. The difference with Regina was she had a softer side that sometimes she couldn't hide from Emma.

Regina was taken back by Emma bantering with her like that. With anyone else, she would have been offended but she knew that Emma wouldn't say anything to hurt anyone. It just wasn't who she was. 

"I know, I know. I'm just not used to talking to anyone I work with on a personal level. I used to be quite open with my emotions and someone used it against me. Since then I just kept myself." Regina admitted. It felt strange to even talk to someone about her life in general. 

"I can understand that. I know how people like to take advantage. I was lucky because I had protection. There were a few times where people managed to take advantage of me and I got into a lot of trouble because of it, " Emma said, recalling a memory of sneaking into her godfather's office with one of the older girls in the program. 

The girl had stolen something important from his office and Emma had innocently thought they had just wanted to play with her. She was forced to watch as he put their entire family out on the streets the next day. 

"It was a little worse than that. I'm not ready to talk about it yet. Let just focus on you getting better and us being able to get on that space shuttle." Regina said to her a little out of sorts. 

"So what's life like for you up there?" Emma asked her curious about how life was like up in the space base. 

"Comfortable," Regina said not knowing what else to say. She loved her living quarters; it was her home. She missed everything about it but most of all she missed her son. She didn't talk about him much to people on earth. She didn't discuss him with people at all but revealing him to someone here could mean devastating ramifications.

"Oh...okay. Well, I'm just hoping the people I have to bunk with aren't total ass holes. I met one of the navigators in class the day of graduation and he seemed a bit like a jackass. I'm hoping he isn't rooming with me." Emma said more to herself than Regina. 

"I will try my best to make sure he isn't," Regina said to her. Emma looked at her confused. 

"There's only one new navigator coming into our crew. His name is Hook. In fact, I had a run-in with him on the way here. I will make sure he is not rooming with you. He is a piece of work." Regina told her. 

"Thank you. I really don't think it would have ended well for either of us." Emma said truly grateful to know that she had someone on her side who understood her.


	7. chapter 6

Chapter six

Emma was sitting on a cold iron table, nervously awaiting the doctor's prognosis. She felt better than she had in a long time. She no longer felt as stiff and her muscles no longer ached. She had gotten back to getting in shape as soon as she could. She needed to stay active. For her physical and mental health. 

The doctor's office had white sterile walls and a cold unwelcoming tiled floor. The only color in the office was the blue curtain that circled the iron table she sat on which was covered with a thin tissue sheet that did nothing when the freezing surface touched her naked skin. She wore a blue cotton dress that covered her front and was tied at the back like an apron. 

She would have felt uncomfortable but she was used to it by now. Weeks in the hospital had made it so. 

The doctor strode into the office. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she wore colorful scrubs. She had met her a few times before because she was Ruby and August's nanny when they were young. Everyone called her Granny and she seemed to like it. 

"Hey, Mrs. Lucus. Did I pass?" Emma asked her. Granny looked at her and raised an eyebrow. 

"It's Granny dear. I know how you were raised but here I'm known as Granny. The only people who call me my actual name is your godfather and Miss Mill's. Other than them I'd prefer Granny." She told Emma who nodded. "Anyway everything looks good and you are all signed off to fly tomorrow. Good luck and remember to do what your heart tells you is right. A lot of people forget that and lose themselves up there."

Emma understood what Granny was saying she had met many people who came back from being in the shuttle and were completely different. She remembered how happy Leroy was before he went up there. Now he was having to go to therapy every week. 

"I won't forget Granny. I will have Ruby and August to remind me too. You did a good job bringing up those two. They are two of the best people I have ever met. The other being surprisingly Regina. She's a tough cookie to crack but she's a good person underneath it all." Emma told her. 

"You should be careful with that one. She's not always a good influence to be around. Don't get me wrong she's an amazing captain and she can be an amazing friend. But she can let her emotions take over sometimes and it becomes dangerous. Take her father for example. " Granny said before realizing she had said something she shouldn't have said. 

"What happened to her father?" Emma asked, wondering what Regina had to do with it.

"Not my place to say kiddo. That's up to Miss Mill's. I'm not sure she would appreciate me telling you." Granny told her knowing what happened last time. 

"I guess I will find out from her then… maybe," Emma said, not knowing if she wanted to know what happened. 

"I think that's for the best. You're free to go. I see you tomorrow before you set off." Granny said stepping away from Emma and walking out the door leaving Emma to get dressed. 

Emma exited the medical center not long after and considered going to see Regina but thought better of it. She instead went to go find Ruby and August. 

She checked their cabins and her own before going to the cafeteria. They were there eating dinner. She went and joined them. 

"Hey, Em's how'd it go. You get the all-clear?" August asked her, stuffing a fork full of chicken into his mouth. 

"Yeah, I'm all good to go. Just need to take it easy. What's for eating?" She asked, starving not having eaten anything since that morning. She was too nervous to eat, fearing not passing her medical.

"Umm…. Food?" Ruby said just before Emma hit her lightly on the arm. August was unable to answer because his mouth was full of his dinner. 

"I guess I'll find out myself," Emma said she got up and walked over to the food.

She saw that there was a lot more choice than usual. She decided on lasagne which she hadn't had in ages. She went back to sit with Ruby and August who were excitedly talking about tomorrow. 

Emma sat and listened to them as they chatted about the next day and how much they were looking forward to being back in the shuttle. 

"Do you think we will get our old cabins back?" Ruby asked, wondering what happened to them when they left. 

"I hope not. Mine sucked. I was right next to the social room and all night I could hear people talking. It was the worst. I was glad when I got back here and had a good night's sleep." August said laughing slightly. 

"Maybe we will be upgraded to our living quarters now. I mean we have been promoted since then." Ruby said even more excited about that prospect. 

Emma couldn't help but wonder about what Granny had said to her about Regina. It had been playing on her mind since she mentioned Regina's father. She was bucking up the courage to ask Her friends about it. It didn't take long for them to notice her not joining in the conversation. 

"What's up, you've been quiet since your check-up?" Ruby asked her worried about Emma and how she was handling going into space the next day. 

"I'm okay I'm just thinking about something Granny said to me before she left. I was wondering how much you guys knew about Regina?" Emma said because she could help herself from thinking about it. 

"Not much. She keeps everything pretty close to her chest. I know she was in some kind of scandal just before she was promoted to captain but it was all kept on the down-low. No one but her and chief knows what happened." August told her curious as to why Emma was suddenly interested in Regina's past. 

"I dunno, I think Granny had an idea of what happened. She told me to be careful around her. And said something happened to her father " Emma said to them hoping to get answers to any of the questions she was asking herself.

"All I know is that her father is dead and that her mother left not long after that," Ruby told her hoping to help Emma somehow. 

"Well, that sounds serious. I want to get to know her better but the closer I get the more closed off she becomes." Emma said becoming frustrated with the fact that the only person who didn't care who she was wouldn't talk to her properly. 

Later that day Emma decided to visit Regina. She was nervous because so far they have kept their conversations pretty light-hearted. Something about Regina made Emma want to know more about her. She couldn't quite understand what but she just felt a need to understand the woman behind the front.

She walked slowly towards Regina's door. Her entire body shook from excitement and anxiety. She knew this conversation could only go one of two ways. 

She knocked lightly on the door and waited patiently for Regina to answer. She heard Regina say goodbye to someone in a soft tone before answering her door. 

She was a little taken back to see Emma standing there. 

"Hey, I didn't expect to see you here?" Regina said to Emma, surprised evident in her voice. She was holding a bottle of something in her hand. 

"I just thought I should pop by and have a chat whilst not dressed in a hospital robe," Emma said in a tone that was less confident than she would like. Regina used her hand to gesture her in. 

"You know you're the first person in a long time to visit me without there being an emergency. It's kind of nice. Would you like a drink or a snack?" She asked as Emma entered the room, indicating to her bottle. 

It wasn't hugely decorated. There was the odd thing that wasn't uniform to the cabin but mostly it looked like Regina had just moved in. 

"So you don't visit earth too much I'm guessing from the lack of personalization of this place," Emma said, wishing there was some way to come right out and say what she was thinking. 

"As little as I can, yes. I have responsibility up there and when I'm here I feel out of place." Regina told her, still questioning why Emma had come to see her. 

"Oh, how so?" Emma said, wanting to be as subtle as possible. She took a seat on the small comfortable sofa. 

"That's a long story. What about that drink?" Regina asked her. 

"Yeah sure, something alcoholic perhaps?" Emma said hoping it would calm her already rising nerves. 

"I have an apple cider with your name on it. Brewed by yours truly." Regina said as she handed her the bottle. Emma took a curious sip. 

"Usually cider isn't my thing but god damn this thing is delicious. Did you say you made it yourself?" Emma asked her genuinely taken back by how good it was. 

"Yes, I did. It's a small hobby of mine. I have a small tree planted in an allotment in the shuttle. It was given to me by my father when I was young." Regina said to her. Emma was wondering how much Regina had already had a drink because she seemed more relaxed than usual.

Regina took a sip from her bottle and placed it on a coaster. She looked Emma with a peculiar look on her face. Emma just smiled back at her. 

"You know you remind me of someone. I can't quite put my finger on who." Regina said to her.

"I've been told I look a lot like my mother but I have my father's hair?" Emma said wondering if Regina knew her parents. 

"What are your parents' names?" Regina asked her. She did know some of the older crew from her training days. 

"Their names were Mary Margaret and David. Their last name was Charming." As Emma said those names, it felt weird to say them out loud; she hardly spoke of her parents because nothing good ever came of it. She had always asked her Godfather growing up about them but he would shut her down, so she stopped asking. 

"Oh… " Regina said a look of anger and also annoyance crossed her face. "I did know them. Your mother taught me for a few years before she disappeared. She was always trying to fix my problems. Of course, no one could have." 

"What happened that made her want to help you? " Emma asked knowing she was getting close but also knowing she was going into dangerous territory. Regina looked at her for a few seconds like she knew this also. 

"I grew up in a strict household. My mother wanted me to be able to take over from Mr.Gold, and I just wanted to be me. When I was younger I followed her every rule and did exactly what she said. I was miserable. One day I met a young man named Daniel who wasn't scared of my mother. He and I became very close and we started dating. My mother had found out not long after and was constantly setting me up with young airs in a futile attempt to make me forget about Daniel. Of course, I was young and in love so whatever she tried I rejected. Soon after we had come home from our second mission, Daniel proposed to me. That night we told mother. She was furious with me and demanded that I left him. At home that night, Daniel was having trouble sleeping so he went out for a walk. A few hours later I found him dead in the woods." Regina said it was like she was suddenly lost in her world forgetting Emma was even there.

Emma could see the emotions playing across Regina's features. She could see how much Daniel's death hurt her still. Emma had so many questions to ask but she stayed quiet, scared to disrupt Regina from the trance she seemed to be in. 

"Mary Margaret was always trying to comfort me and play the good teacher but I hated it. She would dote on me and treat me like I was weak. I tried my best to set her straight but she wouldn't listen. One night she talked to my mother behind my back and told her something I had never wanted my mother to find out. That was the night my entire life here ended." Regina said she looked at Emma with tears in her eyes. 

Before Emma could say anything Regina's face suddenly went distraught. She recoiled away from Emma as fast as she could. Emma couldn't understand what was happening. One minute Regina had been stuck in her world and now she was looking at Emma like she was the worst thing she had ever seen. 

"You need to leave." Regina suddenly said her voice had taken on a much more imposing tone. She had switched so quickly Emma just sat there in shock. "LEAVE NOW!" 

"What did I do?" Emma said, scrambling off her seat. She was confused, but also angry because she didn’t like the feeling that she was to blame. 

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID. GO AWAY!" Regina spat at her viciously. Emma did just that. She ran out of the room and heard the door slam loudly behind her. 

She stood in the hallway not knowing what to do with herself, going over what just happened in her head. She didn't understand. But for now, she would have to push it away because she wouldn't spend her precious time trying to figure out what she did wrong. She did nothing wrong. She wasn’t going to lose sleep over this the day before they left for the shuttle. 

She sulked back to her room ignoring Ruby and August's call to her.


	8. chapter 7

Chapter seven

Emma woke up the next day with a headache. Her plan to get a good night's sleep hadn't worked. She had kept waking up because of nightmares. By the time her alarm had gone off at six that morning she felt like she hadn't slept at all. She quickly took one of her painkillers and sipped some water. 

The events of the night before played continuously in her head as she walked to meet Ruby and August for breakfast. They were talking about something loudly but stopped as soon as she joined them. 

"Where did you go last night? You never stay out late without us?" Ruby asked her, also wondering why Emma looked so miserable. 

"Does it matter? It's not like you guys are my parents or something." Emma said angrily. She knew she was being mean but also couldn't help feeling angry at everything. 

"Wait a second, have we gone back in time. Is this hormonal Teenage Emma coming back to haunt us." August said, trying to make her laugh. It didn't work, it just made Emma feel angrier. 

"I'm not in the mood to talk about it. Just leave it out. I just want to eat my food and get on that pod to my new home." Emma said before she got up and went to get some cereal. 

She could hear Ruby and August muttering about her as she walked away but she didn't care because all she wanted right now was a coffee and for whoever was banging on the inside of her skull to shut the hell up. 

Out the corner of her eye, she saw Regina walk into the cafeteria. She turned to look at her and saw that Regina had spotted her as well. As soon as she did, Regina turned on her heels and walked out. Emma was still confused about what she had done to Regina to make her hate her so much. 

Emma racked her brain for what could have happened last night that would make Regina turn on her so fast. She couldn't think of a single reason why. 

She went back to sit with Ruby and August who stared at her. She tried to ignore them and started eating. After a while, she grew uncomfortable with it. 

"What?" She said not looking up at them. 

"Did something happen with you and Regina?" Ruby asked her cautiously. Emma looked up at her. 

"What makes you think that?" Emma asked her not wanting to get into it. She shuffled in her chair as a way to make the heavy feeling in her chest disappear but it did nothing. 

"The fact that she just walked in and saw you then turned around and walked straight back out. I mean she can be a bitch sometimes but she's not usually one to walk away from a fight." August added. Emma didn't know what to say to them. She didn't even know what had happened. She was sure that she didn't want to talk to them about it. 

She just wanted to be left alone to eat. She had enough to worry about without adding her new Regina drama to that. 

"Nothing, I went to see her last night and somehow pissed her off. It was bound to happen at some point" Emma's voice sounded sadder than she liked it too. 

" Em's, we're here for you. Don't shut us out." Ruby said in a quiet calming voice. She touched Emma's arm gently. 

Emma pulled her arm away from her. She hated feeling pitied. She had it for most of her life as soon as people realized she was an orphan they treated her differently. 

" I'm fine!" Emma said to her in a sharp voice. She knew she was upsetting them. She still didn't want to talk about it. They stopped talking to her after that. She finished her food and left them at the table. 

Her head was a mess, she should have been focusing on being able to get her first glimpse of the universe but instead, all she could think about was Regina. She lay in her bed trying her best to rid herself of the thoughts but they kept coming thick and fast. 

Her head got so loud that the only thing she could do was close her eyes and scream at the voice in her head. Nothing ever got to her like this. Not even when she was under stress for her last pilot exam had she ever felt this angry. 

All she wanted to do was find out what Regina's problem was but she knew how bad an idea that was. One word from Regina and she would be out of the crew. 

Instead, she decided on playing her music in the loudest setting and started to get ready for that night. 

She started in the shower making sure she cleaned herself thoroughly hoping that the tiniest thing would distract her. She moved on to ironing her jumpsuit and making sure her hair was placed in the perfect ponytail. Then she was onto her boots, she shined them up so much that she could see her reflection in them. They hadn't been that clean since she first bought them. 

Finally, she was ready for her big adventure into space. She looked at the clock. She still had two hours to kill before she needed to be there. 

She decided to go for a last walk around before she had to leave. She started walking to her old classroom. She had spent so much of her time there that it was like a second home. 

She walked into the dimly lit room. The floor was lined with desks and the large oak teacher's desk sat proudly at the front and she sat down at it. She took a deep breath and reminded herself how hard she had worked to get to where she was. She wasn't going to let some woman ruin that, no matter how beautiful she may be. 

Emma had to stop herself at that thought. She couldn't go there. For so many reasons she couldn't let herself go there. 

But for some reason she let her brain drift there. She couldn't help how she felt about Regina. The woman was impossible but she was also so incredible. She always looks so put together. Her jumpsuit hugged her body in all the right places and not to mention how much her red lipstick made Emma want to ruin it with her lips. 

She'd never felt like this about anyone before. She never had to deal with these emotions. Sure she had found women attractive before but never felt as strongly as she did for Regina. She knew that it was wrong and that it could never happen. But everything in her wanted it to happen so badly. 

Emma sat and fantasized about a world where she and Regina could be together. Before she knew it an hour had passed and her butt had gone numb. She slowly got up and shook out her limbs. 

She made her way to her safety spot underneath the tree, the one place where the world just seemed to stop for her. She made her way out into the brisk evening air and took a slow walk. She was sure other people had been out there too but she blanked them all. Her head was spinning and all she wanted was for. It is too. Stop so she could focus. 

She finally reached her tree and plonked down in front of it. She slid down until she lay in the grass completely ruining her hours of preparation but she didn't care. She just wanted to look up at the sky for a while and get lost there. Not long after she was interrupted by a voice. 

"Hey mind if I join you?” Said a voice Emma didn’t recognize. She opened her closed eyes and looked at the new person. She saw a woman her age with long, bright red hair. Emma sat up and tapped the space next to her. The girl came to sit next to her. 

“Hey I’m Ariel, hope I’m not intruding. I just saw you out here alone and wondered if you were okay. You look a little down.” The girl said to her, her voice was sweet and sincere. 

“I guess I have to be okay. I haven’t got a choice.” Emma said, sounding defeated. The girl gave her a strange look.

“No one should ever have to be okay. If you feel under the water don’t hide. Trust me it makes things so much worse. I know you don’t know me but we can talk about it if you want to.” Ariel said to her. Emma looked at her again. She recognized her from some of her classes. 

“I’m not sure where to start really. My head is a mess today. I know it shouldn’t be because in half an hour I will be getting on a shuttle to go into space but I can't help it.” Emma said to help not understanding why she trusted this girl but something told her she could. 

“I understand, I’ll be in that shuttle too. I know this probably isn’t the thing to say but you’re Emma Swan?” She asked cautiously. Emma was trying to decide what to say to that. “It’s just because I’ve heard about you and I’ve seen you in class. I can’t believe that I get to be on the same crew as you. I noticed you over the years and I’ve heard things people say but I ignored them mostly. The teachers rave about you all the time. I even overheard Mr. Gold say that you are going to be their most promising pilot yet. I enrolled a few years later than everyone one else and it took me so long to catch up but you inspired me to try harder because I wanted to be in your crew. I’m going to be your co-pilot.” The girl said a lot faster than Emma had thought anyone could talk. She barely had taken a breath. 

She had met a lot of people who wanted to know her because of her parents or her godfather but no one in her classes had ever wanted to talk to her because she inspired them. It helped soothe her nerves a little that someone she hardly knew believed in her that much.

“Thanks, I guess. It’s nice to know someone believes in me. I always thought everyone in our class thought I was just put first because of who I was. “ Emma said, actually thankful the girl had interrupted her meditations. 

“No way I saw how hard you worked for this. Every time I was in the library I saw you there too. You were there when I came and you were there when I went. You studied harder and longer than anyone I have ever seen.” Ariel said in an excited voice. Emma smiled at the girl who grinned back at her. “I’ve wanted to talk to you ever since I saw you in my class but I always thought you might be too busy or I would be intruding but then I saw you out here and something told me you could use someone to talk to.” 

“I guess I could use someone to talk to. I didn’t want to talk to my other friends about it because I know that they would make things worse. I have a crush on someone that I shouldn't be crushing on. We also fell out and now I’m going to be in very close quarters with them and I don’t know how either of us will deal with that. Especially now I’ve realized I like them.” Emma told her, not wanting the other girl to know that her crush was their Captain.

“I know that feeling. I once had a crush on this one guy but we came from two different worlds. Quite literally, he came from a different planet. He was visiting here as research to take back to his home planet and he was interviewing me about how schooling went here. We went to talking and we developed feelings for each other. We kissed each other one night and after that, I never got to see or talk to him again.” Arial admitted she sighed sadly. 

Emma felt sorry for the girl. It must have hurt being that close to someone for them to just up and disappear. At least with Regina, they never really got that close. Sure Emma really really liked her but also she could walk away and maybe just maybe forget about her feelings for the women.

“My advice would be to stay strong. This woman might also have issues she's working through and maybe fate will be kind and bring the two of you together or it will keep you apart either way. Don’t let this take over your life because you’ll regret it.” She said to Emma who nodded hoping her advice would stick. “Come on, we had best be going the launch will be starting soon,” Ariel said standing up, she waited for Emma to get up and they both walked together to the hall where their night was just getting started.


	9. chapter 8

Chapter eight  
Emma and Ariel walked into the hall, it was decorated with bright banners and balloons. The place was crowded with people and cheesy music played. This wasn’t either of the girls had expected but Emma could see Ariel's eyes light up when she saw the place. They walked further into the place. People were dancing and talking. The buffet looked incredible and Emma’s stomach rumbled at the sight of food. She then realized she hadn’t eaten since that morning. Ariel noticed where Emma was looking and pulled her towards the table. She grabbed herself and Emma a plate and shoved it into the blond's hands.   
“Dig in!” Ariel said to Emma who did as she was told they both filled their plates and went to find somewhere free to sit down. Ariel had guided Emma towards a table. Emma looked at the group of people already occupying the table nervously.   
“Don’t worry, these guys are cool. You don’t need to worry about them, they are my friends.” Ariel said. This calmed Emma down a little but she still felt her stomach twist a little at the thought of socializing with that many strangers at one time. They sat at the table and Ariel began to introduce her to what seemed like some of her new crew members.  
“So Emma, this is Jefferson. He’s the guy in the cool top hat. Graham, he has the beard. Mulan, She is the one with the black hair. Alice and Robin, our resident couple and Will, he's the one who will constantly keep asking you out even when you keep saying no.” Ariel said, pointing to each of them. They all smiled at her. Will winked at Ariel who hit him lightly.  
“Well, he probably shouldn’t waste his time with me. I’m not into dudes.” Emma said, making sure that she made that clear.   
“Yes girls we got ourselves a new member,” Alice said to Robin and Mulan. Robin kissed Alice on the cheek lightly whilst Mulan chuckled at Alice.   
“I guess you're my only chance still Ariel,” Will said to her before once again Ariel hit him.   
“I’m sorry she’s just not that into you,” Jefferson said to him before turning to Emma.   
“So you are The Emma Swan. You know Ariel, has been obsessed with talking to you for years.”   
“Yeah I know, I’m just glad she wants to know me because I’m a decent pilot,” Emma said truthfully.   
“Decent is an understatement. More like brilliant. Don’t sell yourself short” Graham said to her.  
“Don’t you make the poor girl feel awkward” Robin said to him. She had her arms around Alice who was snuggled into her side. Emma had only known them for five minutes and could tell these two were in love.   
“I’m just hoping I don’t let you guys down,” Emma said now a little worried that she would. She felt like these new people were different from most recruits. They all seemed like they were misfits like her. She felt a certain calmness wash over her. At least there was a group of people in her crew that seemed like decent people.   
Just as they had all finished chatting and introducing Emma to the group Ruby and August came up to their table surprised to see Emma socializing with people other than them.  
“Hey, Em’s just thought we would come over and say hi, we haven’t seen you since this morning?” Ruby said to her hoping that Emma had calmed down and was okay with them coming over.  
“Hey guys, This is Ariel. We were chatting earlier and we came here. She introduced me to some of her friends who will be our crew.” Emma said to them feeling slightly weird about how she acted at breakfast but knew that they wouldn’t hold it against her. They knew her well enough to know sometimes she just needed time alone to sort things out.   
“Nice to meet you all. Would it be cool if we chatted to you as a second kid?” August asked her, lightly putting a hand on her shoulder.   
“Sure, I’ll be back in a bit, guys. It was awesome getting to know you all” Emma said to the gang before she got up and followed Ruby and August out to somewhere not quiet and private.   
“We just needed to ask you if you were still okay with leaving today. We couldn’t help but worry because you were so on edge this morning. We want to make sure your 100% before we go” August asked her, truly worried about her. Emma could see that both of them were.   
“I’m sorry I was acting so horrible this morning. I just needed to process something. I’m not entirely over it but Ariel helped me calm down.” Emma said she still wasn’t sure about telling them she liked Regina. She hoped they would drop the subject until she was ready to tell them.  
“Okay but Em’s we just want you to be happy. We’re not here to criticize you. Personally, I just don’t want to lose you to yourself.” Ruby said to her before pulling her into a hug. “ You're about to take a big step and I know how much of a shock to the system this will be for you.”   
“Yeah kid we just want you to know we have your back. No matter what we will stand by your side. We believe in you.” August said joining in in their hug.   
“I promise you guys I’m not going to pull away, it's just time I started working stuff out by myself too,” Emma said to them knowing that going into space meant that she was going to have to separate herself from them a little. She needed to learn to stand strong by herself otherwise no one would take her seriously. “Now come one lets get our party on before we blow this party and head to the stars.”   
They went back in and Emma spotted her new friends on the dance floor. Ruby pushed her towards them. Emma stubbled forward slightly and looked back at August and Ruby. They both smiled at her. She grinned back at them and took a deep breath before walking over to the gang and tapping Ariel on the shoulder.   
“EMMA! Guys, Emma came back, we didn’t scare her off” Ariel said, pulling Emma into the circle. They all cheered which Emma couldn't help but laugh at. Ariel grabbed Emma’s hands and started jumping up and down to the music. The rest of them were doing the same so for once in her life, Emma said fuck it to formality and started jumping with them too.   
They spent most of the night either dancing like lunatics or sitting at the table eating food and chatting about random stuff. Emma hadn’t enjoyed herself this much in a long time. The entire night she had a huge smile on her face.   
Soon enough it was time for things to get serious. Her godfather who she hadn’t seen in almost a month took to the stage to announce the start of their launch. Everyone gathered around the stage to hear him speak.   
“Hello everyone, I hope you have all enjoyed tonight. I’m so proud to present our new crew of the Baelfire. Most importantly my goddaughter Emma Swan, It's a new pilot. Now we have a tradition with the Baelfire that when there is a new crew coming aboard, especially a new pilot. They get to be the first to board the shuttle to their new home. But first, the Captain is to make a speech to their new crew members.” Mr. Gold said to everyone.   
Regina walked up onto the stage. She was wearing her uniform jumpsuit but somehow still looked amazing. She didn't look even a little nervous whilst standing in front of everyone.  
"Hello, as you all know I'm Captain Mills. I took over the Baelfire crew when I was twenty years old. As the youngest Captain SRDP has ever seen I only think it's fitting that I'm leading one the youngest and most promising pilots to step on Baelfire. Now the time for talking is over. Let's get Baelfire's new crew up in the air," Regina said confidently to the crowd. There was a roar of applause as she walked off the platform. She made her way to the walkway that led to the ship.   
Emma knew this was when she was meant to walk over to her and enter the ship. But her legs wouldn't move. Her new gang of friends looked at her. Emma looked at Regina who was silently begging her to get on to the ship.   
"Miss Swan, would you do the honors," Regina said to her. Emma slowly began to walk forward not taking her eyes off Regina. The rest of the crew followed behind her. Regina was trying her best to stay professional. She walked next to Emma onto the small shuttle.   
It was a little small and cramped but they would only have to survive a day in it before they boarded the space station orbiting around the earth that would act as their home for however long they were needed up there. The space base contained all the ships used in missions including the Baelfire.  
It was Emma's job to get their pod there safely. She sat at the main control panel and Ariel sat next to her at the secondary on. She could feel Regina's eyes on the back of her head.  
"Initiate lift-off procedure," Regina commanded them. She and Ariel hit the correct buttons and Emma felt the shuttle come to life.   
The rest of the crew, including her new friends, and August and Ruby sat behind them all buckled up.  
Behind Emma was Regina. She felt her eyes watching her every move.   
"Set up coordinates for 212.568.982," Regina added. Emma typed them in. She had them memorized since she had learned them.   
"Double-check your work," Regina told them. It was a crucial move before liftoff. If anything was going to go wrong the system would tell them now.   
"We’re set to go," Emma informed her, keeping her voice tight to not give away how anxious she felt.   
"I will proceed with the count down," Regina said in a professional, confident voice. "10,9,8,7,6..." she said.   
Emma's stomach was tightening in excitement. She was about to officially take off for the first time. She had been in simulations before but this was the real thing.   
"...5,4,3,2," Regina continued.   
Emma got ready to flick the button that would launch them into space. "...1"   
Emma looked over to Ariel and they pressed their buttons at the same time. Instantly the shuttle roared to life. It slowly began to push its way off the earth's crust. The speed steadily grew and before she knew it they were above the clouds. She felt a hand touch her shoulder.  
"Well done Emma. Your first launch went off without a hitch," Regina congratulated her.   
Emma couldn't help but smile at that. All these years of training and she finally was up in the sky as the rockets of the shuttle took them higher and higher. The blue sky slowly turned into blackness and the stars grew a little brighter as they climbed.   
"Now crew if you look out the back of the shuttle you will see Earth," Regina told them. Everyone's head moved to stare behind them.   
There was earth in all its glory; from here Emma could see the water overpowering the ground. The sun reflected off its surface and shone through their window.   
Seeing it in person was almost impossible to describe. Emma took it all in. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She had dreamt of this moment all her life and she never anticipated how much looking back and seeing Earth would affect her. A tear fell from her eye. She looked at Regina who was just staring at her.   
"Is it what you thought it would be like?" Regina asked her, unable to stare away from Emma who looked so taken by the view in front of her. Everyone else had “owed” and “awed” at it, but Emma genuinely was unable to speak.   
"It's so much better than I could have ever imagined it being," Emma said to her. She lightly wiped the tear off her face. "I finally feel free."  
"It's amazing isn't it," Regina said to her.   
All Emma could do was nod. She wasn't even taking in the fact that Regina was talking to her. All she could do was stare at the breathtaking view in front of her.


	10. chapter 9

Chapter nine   
"Hey, I'm Emma. I'm the Lead Pilot and I enjoy stargazing," Emma said to everyone her voice was a little nervous but she was able to control it. August gave her hair a ruffle; she swiped at him to lay off. 

"I'm Jefferson. I'm Loadmaster and I enjoy hats" Jefferson said watching Graham chuckle slightly when he announced his crew role. Jefferson elbowed him. 

"Alright, I'm Graham, Communication System Technician. I enjoy hunting and looking after animals." He then hit Jefferson on the back of the head lightly and laughed as he ducked away from Jefferson's counter-attack. 

"Ay, the name's Hook, I'm the Navigator and I enjoy rum," He said, smirking. He winked at Emma who just glared at him. 

"I'm Peter, most people call me Pan. I'm the First Engineer. I like to practice sword fighting,” he said to the group. Something about him creeped Emma out.

"Finally, it's my turn. Hello, darling's I'm Cruella, I'm the Data Collection and Management Technician. I enjoy wearing furs and drinking gin." Emma noted her British, but it sounded like the sort Emma had heard villains use in old movies her parents had left her. It chilled Emma to the bone. 

"Maleficent, I'm the second engineer and I enjoy reptiles and learning old-world myths," she announced to them in a way that said she wished she didn’t have to participate. 

"I'm Ursula, I'm the third engineer, I sing and also have an affinity for sea life," she said confidently. She seemed the least brutal of the three women who just spoke, but Emma knew those are the kind you don't underestimate. 

"Okay, well that wasn't too bad. Now we all know each other's names and positions it might be a good time to give you our mission brief," Regina said to them all as she pulled out something from her pocket that looked kind of like a watch but a little larger. She placed it around her wrist and pushed a button. An image of Baelfire projected out of it. "As you all should know this is our ship, Baelfire. It is the largest and strongest ship that our world owns. There will be a crew that joins us to maintain the weaponry aboard. Recruits are not to use it until they have been active on the ship for three years. Then and only then will they be able to operate it. Until then you will be in charge of your position that has been taught to you over the years of your training. Our mission is to listen for communications from other ships, such as signals that they need our help. We are the last resort people. We are there purely for back up. It is crucial none of you act until I tell you too. That is how fatal accidents happen. We are here to talk-down or take-down rebel ships. We fight for our lives and the lives of everyone on earth," Regina said, her voice taking on a tone that Emma had not yet heard from her. 

Emma had to admit to herself that seeing Regina in charge made her a little hot and bothered. She tried to rid her head of the inappropriate thoughts of her Captain. It was bad enough that she had knocked herself out in front of her already; she didn't want to add blushing every time she talked to the list of embarrassing moments. 

Later on that day, everyone was preparing to board their new base/home. Emma packed her belongings before returning to her post to make sure that the shuttle was still on track. Hook was there to double-check the coordinates with her, which was bad enough, but then, Hook’s friends, the irksome threesome, came in and made things worse.

"So I heard this is your new plaything Hookie. I thought you'd have better taste than one of the program's orphans," Maleficent said to Hook like Emma wasn't even there. Emma ignored her, keeping focus on her job. But, it got hard when Cruella started playing with her hair. Emma tried her best to pretend she didn’t feel it.

"Yes, darling this one seems a little boring don't you think?" Cruella added. When Emma did not react, she tugged a little on Emma's hair. Emma gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to respond but when Cruella started to tug harder on it, Emma's anger got the best of her. 

"Don't fucking touch me," Emma said to her in a stony voice. She batted away Cruella's hand sharply. 

"I don't know...she has a kind of lost puppy charm to her don't you think, Ella?" Ursula added. 

Cruella chuckled slightly. "Well yes, she has. Maybe I should teach her some new tricks," Cruella said. Emma didn't quite understand what she meant by that but knew it wasn't going to be good. 

"Leave her alone guys, she ain't so bad, are you, love?" Hook said sounding kind of like he was trying to defend her. 

"Sure, if blonde and boring is what you're interested in," Ursula added. Emma didn't care what they thought about her. None of it made any difference to her. 

"But I have heard that this one is a special case. Even Gold abandoned her after she finished training." Maleficent smirked when she saw Emma twitch slightly as her anger grew. Cruella had spotted it too. 

"Not even her parents wanted to stick around," Cruella added cackling to herself. 

Emma stood up to face them. 

"The difference between you and me is that you heard of me before you met me because I'm good at what I do," Emma said to them trying to keep her argument as tame as possible. "See, part of me wants to believe you're jealous that I'm your superior but I also know that you're a sorry bunch of people who think that belittling me will make you feel stronger. That isn't who I am so don't waste your breath with any more of your generic insults because trust me I heard them all." Emma didn’t bother to wait for a reply or see their reactions. Just before she exited the room, she saw Regina, but she didn’t hesitate, and she stormed out the room and down the passageway.

Later on, Emma was doing her best to chill out in her sleeping section. She had taken off the top part of her jumpsuit and tied around her waist. Underneath she wore a white tank top which she was glad off because the cold air was helping her cool off. The gravity was turned off in their rooms to conserve energy, she had no idea if she was lying down or stood up. She thought she would be used to it after years of simulations but it still boggled her brain.

She had been in a rough mood since her encounter with the three bitches but she did her best to distract herself. It wasn't new for her to get treated like that, but they did get to her; part of her always wondered if her parents didn't think she was enough. Why would they leave her if they loved her? 

The thought swarmed around in her head. She tried not to get upset about it but the harder she tried to not think about it, the worse it got. Would they even care that she was following in their footsteps in the hopes to find out what happened to them? She was proud of who she was and how hard she had to work to get there, but sometimes she felt it wasn't enough. 

Whilst she was busy melting in a pit of her sorrow she heard voices outside. They were faint but she could make out what they were saying, just barely. 

"There was no need to go after Swan like that. She's had a shitty enough time without you and your pets going after her." It was Regina's voice and she was angry. 

"Maybe if she didn't make herself such a target we wouldn't have." Emma recognized that voice as Maleficent. 

"Well, take this as a warning. I see you and your little posse talking or treating her like that again, I will send you back to Gold with a letter that advises him to terminate your services with us. And trust me, Gold takes what I tell him very seriously." 

She was surprised to hear Regina defend her like that. From Regina’s recent behavior towards her, she thought she didn't want anything to do with her. 

"Whatever, I promise I'll behave myself. I can't say the same for the other two idiots. Especially Cruella. She doesn't like being told she can't do something," Maleficent said. She hears footsteps walking off. 

Then there was a heavy huff. She was sure that was Regina. Emma didn't know how to feel about what she heard. Part of her tried to tell herself Regina was just being a good Captain, but she also knew that Regina wasn't the sort of person that would defend someone she didn't care about. 

She could hear Regina's footsteps getting closer. Suddenly Regina appeared in the doorway. 

“Hey, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and to let you know I need you in the Control Room soon. We are an hour away from the ship.” Regina said not looking directly at her. 

“Captain. I’m ok, thank you. I’ll be right there.” Emma’s brain ached to say more, but she couldn’t. Regina was still avoiding eye contact. Emma hoped she would look at her, but she didn’t. Regina nodded and left.

Emma felt her stomach drop, but she didn’t want to push her. Even though she and Regina hadn’t known each other for long, she missed her. But she was going to make this work. Emma was good at suppressing her emotions. 

She grabbed her bag and stalked back to the Control Room. She ignored everyone in there and slumped into her seat, fixing the path so it would guide them towards the entrance of the ship.

She felt a familiar hand on her shoulder; it was August. 

"You alright kid, you seem down?" He said, taking a seat next to her. Emma looked dead ahead. 

"Yeah. It's just I thought this would be where I fit you know and I still feel like I don't belong here." 

He nodded understanding what she told him. He had felt like that too once. "I get that kid. I think once you get out on that ship you will find your place. It sounds cheesy but it's where you belong. I felt like that before my first mission but after going out there and fighting with my crew, I just felt at home with myself."

He knew how Emma thought and knew that she was finding it hard to be around so many people that relied on her heavily. She was going to be amazing at it, but getting her to trust herself was going to be the hardest part of his job. 

"Thanks, August, I hope you're right because right now I just feel like this is going to be a disaster," Emma told him truthfully. Between her feelings for Regina and the new crew members that didn't like her it was going to be a struggle. 

After half an hour the ship started to appear in the distance. The first glimpse of it got the crew excited. The sheer size of it alone was incredible. The sun bounced off its metal plating so brightly that Emma had to put up the sun glare glass on the ship's windows. She never dreamed it would be so amazing to see in real life. The SRDSP logo stood out proudly on its side.

As the ship grew nearer she switched it to manual and guided the shuttle safely inside. Ariel sat beside her helping her when needed. She was also in awe of the ship. 

"I can't believe we are here. I've dreamed of this since the moment I signed up and now it's here! It's so much more that I could have ever expected it to be!" 

Emma looked at her and grinned. "That it is," Emma said as she glided closer to the ship. A huge door opened for them to enter and Emma and Ariel managed to safely guide the shuttle through. They carefully parked the shuttle where they were instructed to land it. 

Emma looked at Ariel again."We are here," She said as she switched off the engine. She then flipped the switch to release the airlock and doors.


	11. Emma's diary entry 2

Emma's diary entry two

It’s me again, back for my second diary entry. It's a little later than I expected but I'm here now. Finally here.

This place is incredible and huge. I've spent the first couple of days here just exploring. I can't count the number of times I’ve got lost. Ariel and I got lost for an hour before and ended up somewhere near the end of the ship. Luckily someone helped us get back to our cabins in time for bed. It was a pretty awesome adventure. 

The ship is huge, there is a canteen with amazing food and equally amazing coffee. A huge exercising area with a pool that Ariel has spent a lot of time in. I've joined her once or twice. I prefer the running track but it gets a little crowded on the weekends. 

Even the social rooms are amazing, some have pool tables or table tennis. August taught me how to play darts too and I've found out I'm pretty bad at it. Ruby took me to the small clothing area where you can get clothes for when you're off duty. She wasn't impressed with my choices but I love the red leather jacket I picked up. I wear it all the time.

Ruby and August are grateful to be back too. They seem to be in their element. Ruby is talking with Mulan a lot these days, it's nice to see her make friends with someone who isn't August.

August has been talking with some girl who he says used to be on their crew before they left to come to look after me. It's sweet to see him get all flustered around her. Me and Ruby think he's going to ask her out soon. Ruby said if he doesn't do it, then she's going too. August didn't appreciate that. 

I still haven't told them about my feelings for Regina. It's pretty much a dead path anyway–there's no way she would go for someone like me. To her, I'm just her pilot and I'm good at my job. It makes me a little upset but I'm sure I'll get over it. Ariel and I have talked a little about it, she thinks that Regina likes me too but I don't see it. 

We've had a few meetings with Regina since we got on board and soon we are looking out to doing our first real test run with Baelfire. 

This thing with Regina is getting awkward though. I think there is something going on with her and Maleficent because now and again they give each other this weird look and disappear for hours. At first, it wasn't too bad but now after hearing everyone gossip about it, it's made me think. Maybe they are up to something. Perhaps I should find out what. I know I shouldn't be sneaking around and spying on them but I do not trust Maleficent.

She and her posse of bitches have gotten worse since coming here. Not only are they targeting me but they are going after Ariel and my other friends now too. They won't dare touch August and Ruby but even those two don't know what to do with them. We've been threatened that if we talk to Regina about it that something bad will happen to us. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if one of them held a knife to my throat just so they got their own way. 

Aside from them, when they're not around are actually pretty fun. Graham and I have been battling it out on one of the game consoles. We are playing an old-world game called “Call of Duty.” At first, I wasn't so great at it but now I'm getting to the point where I'm not constantly dying...it's actually pretty enjoyable. 

Anyway, I'm excited to finally get on the ship that I've been waiting for most of my life to pilot. I just hope I can do my parents' justice. 

This place is so much more than I was expecting. I've been talking with the gang and they have been saying something about a big party someone is throwing in a couple of days to celebrate our arrival. I’m not sure if I want to go yet but Ruby and Ariel said they are pretty much going to drag me to it. 

It’s weird on one hand I’m having the time of my life but on the other every time I see Regina I feel like someone is punching me in the stomach. I hate that I let her get to me like this. No one has ever made me feel this horrible before. Stupid women with her beautiful face and intoxicating personality. 

I just want to focus on my mission but that damn woman won’t get out of my head. For a few fleeting moments I can distract myself but most of the time, especially at night, my head is so full of Regina it feels like it’s about to combust. I barely know the woman but still, I feel like I’m just floating aimlessly without her. 

For now, I’m going to concentrate on being the best pilot I can be. At the moment, however, I crave a bear claw and hot cocoa with cinnamon. I’m feeling a little homesick if I’m honest. I’m missing being able to have somewhere I am alone and safe. I love that I have more friends now but there is still part of me that is terrified they will leave me and I’ll be left as sad old Emma the kid with no friends again. I just don’t want to get too attached because usually for me it ends badly. 

I was close to this one kid when I was younger. His name was Neal. We used to hang out all the time. It was the first person I ever made friends with that was my own age. This was when my parents were still about. He was my godfather's son but he and his dad didn’t get along. Neal’s mother left them when he was young and he hadn’t seen her since. He blamed his dad for her disappearing. Not long after my Mum and Dad went missing so did Neal. There were rumors that he snuck on one of the shuttles that mysteriously disappeared during their first mission. He always said he thought his mother had gone up there to get away from his father. My godfather told me years later that Neal’s mother, his wife, had actually left him for some other guy but he never got the courage to tell Neal about it because he didn’t want Neal to think he didn’t have what it took to look after him.


	12. chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Emma had been hiding in her bed all day, she was nervous about the party that night. Ruby and Ariel had been talking about dressing her up and Emma wasn’t sure how comfortable she was with that. Part of her just wanted to throw her hair up in a ponytail and wear a shirt and jeans and be done with it. She knew that with those two involved, she was going to be forced to wear a dress and makeup.

That morning hadn’t helped either. She was sitting in her bed minding her own business, reading a book that Robin had lent her–some book about a girl being sent into a huge area where she had to kill loads of people to get out, but falling for a boy who baked bread. She had to admit it wasn’t a bad read. 

She was so engrossed in the book that she didn’t realize that she had been left alone with Cruella and Ursula. They sat on their beds discussing men or how they wanted to dress as provocatively as possible so they could lure some poor men into giving them some affection. Emma could hear them, but mostly blanked it all out. That was until they started discussing Maleficent and Regina. 

“So what do you think is going on with those two. Maleficent keeps telling me to keep my nose out but I swear I saw her coming out of Regina’s room the other day. I called her up on it but she just told me Regina needed to speak to her privately about something,” Ursula said in a whisper to Cruella. 

It wasn’t the best attempt at keeping her voice quiet because Emma could hear every word she was saying. Emma listened to them but kept on pretending she was reading her book. 

“Darling, me and you both know those two are going at it. I think Maleficent wants to get in the Captain's paints so she can get promoted,” Cruella said.

Emma suddenly felt her whole body grow ridged. Was it true? Was Regina sleeping with Maleficent? It would explain why they were always seen together. Emma couldn't help the flare of anger she suddenly felt go through her. She knew she had no right to feel jealous but she couldn't help it. Why would Regina want to be with that dragon of a woman?

Before they could finish the conversation Ruby and Ariel came into their shared quarters. They both grinned at Emma, both of them had a twinkle in their eye.

“You know what time it is right,” Ruby said, sitting on the end of Emma's bed heavily. She grabbed the book out of Emma’s hand.

“Hey! At least let me put my bookmark in before you close it.” Emma said, grabbing the book back, placed her bookmark in it, and put it in her nightstand drawer. 

“I think it's time we give our girl a makeover and get her from the fictional world into the real one,” Ariel said sitting on her bed next to Emma’s. 

Emma sighed and dropped her face into her pillow. She knew she was going to hate every second of this. “Let’s just get it over with,” Emma said into the pillow which muffled her voice a little. 

“YES! Well first off we need to get you dressed out of this horrific leather jacket and into something more form-fitting,” Ruby said grabbing her hands and pulling her to sit up. 

“Why am I letting you do this again? What do you have in mind?” Emma said knowing she was going to regret letting them play dress-up with her. 

“Follow us,” Ariel said quickly getting up. She stood still for a second wobbling a bit. “Oh head rush.” She said giggling before marching out of the room. Ruby chuckled at her before getting up with Emma. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 

“Come on this will be fun, I promise,” She said as she and Emma walked out of the room. Emma sighed but allowed herself to be guided by Ruby. 

After a few moments, they reach a door. Ariel stood beside it grinning at her. She opened the door and Ruby led Emma in. 

The room was filled with over fifty dressed and there was a table with a large mirror planted on the wall in front of it. The table was covered in makeup and hair products. 

“This is going to be torture,” Emma said as Ariel forced a dress into her hands. 

“Not if you comply. Now go get changed. We have loads of stuff for you to try on and only three hours before we need to get to the party.” Ariel said to her. Emma stalked behind a fabric screen that had been put up in the corner of the room. She quickly got undressed and yanked the dress over her head. It felt strange on her, she hated having so much skin exposed. She walked out from behind the screen to face Ariel and Ruby who looked at her. 

“I hate this” Emma said to them knowing her face had gone bright red. Ruby chuckled at her but Ariel smiled at her sweetly.

“I think it suits you, I mean it's not what we are going for tonight but it looks nice on you,” Ariel told her, trying in vain to help Emma feel more comfortable. Ruby grabbed another dress off the rack and chucked it at Emma who caught it and looked at it. 

“Go on, try it on,” Ruby said to her, loving every moment of it. Emma went back behind the screen and pulled on the next dress. How long could this go on for?

This went on for an hour. Emma was beginning to get bored of dressing and undressing. Ruby could see that she was getting close to her breaking point.

“Okay, I think I know which one you should wear, Here try this one on for size.” Ruby handed her a black, tight sleeveless dress. Emma gawked at Ruby who lifted an eyebrow at her.

“Seriously. A little black dress. Who the hell am I dressing up for anyway.” Emma said to them both. Ariel looked at Ruby who looked back at her then at Emma. 

“You didn’t, Ariel. I thought I said not to tell anyone!” Emma said to the red-headed girl. Ariel looked at her guiltily. 

“I didn't tell her. She guessed Emma, I swear.” Ariel said in a nervous voice. She didn't want to make Emma angry but it was true. 

“You don’t need to get angry with her Emma. She just wants to help you and so do I. I knew from the minute you looked at Regina you liked her. It wasn’t until she stopped talking to you I realized just how much.” Ruby said to her. “ This is our plan to make you feel more confident and also to show Regina what she's missing”

“I don’t even know if she is into women. For all I know she’s straight.” Emma told them. She was trying her best to push down the emotions that were threatening to surface. 

“Trust me, Emma, she's into women. I also know for a fact that she and Maleficent have been sneaking around with each other.” Ruby told her honestly. 

“What is the point in all this then? She doesn't like me, she wants to be with Maleficent.” Emma said to them angrily, tears starting to form in her eyes. 

“Em, look at me. That woman has some deep emotional issues. She is in no way in a relationship with Maleficent.” Ruby told her. Ariel nodded in agreement. 

“She’s hurting and she's trying to use sex with Maleficent to make her self feel better. If she was actually into her she wouldn't be hiding it from everyone.” Ariel told Emma who shook her head.

“No, I don’t believe you. There is no way I stand a sliver of a chance with her.” Emma said walking over to the chair and slumping down in it. She stared at her hands. Why was she even getting upset at this? She knew better than to let things like this get to her. Ruby came and wrapped her arms around Emma. 

“Look Em’s I know you don’t believe that you are good enough but that's what I’m here for. To tell you that you are. That woman isn’t going to know what hit her when she sees you tonight.” Ruby told her. 

“Be real, Ruby. Look at me! Regina Mills isn’t going to go for someone like me. To her, I’m just a stupid girl who managed to wrangle a good grade and who now pilots her ship. I’m nothing compared to Maleficent,” Emma sobbed. She hated that she let herself get this emotional. 

“Are you kidding me?! Emma looks at yourself,” Ariel said to her, making her look at herself in the mirror. “Maleficent doesn’t stand a chance.”

“All I see is a stupid, nieve girl in a nice dress, with a blotchy face,” Emma said to them. 

Ruby sighed heavily. “Well, that’s not what we see. I see a woman that defied all odds and that past her pilot exams with the highest scores ever seen. I see someone brave and strong who fought to get where she wanted to be. Emma, you are amazing!”

"Come on Emma, you've got this. Let us clean you up and put some makeup on that pretty face," Ariel said to her with a soft smile. 

Emma sighed and wiped her eyes. "Let's just get it over with." She fell heavily into her chair and let them make her up. It didn't take quite as long as them picking a dress, but Emma at one point had to stand up to get feeling back in her legs. When they were done with her face, Ariel plugged in the hair curlers. 

"Next is your hair. How do you feel about a fancy updo?" Ariel said to her piling her hair upon her head. 

Emma chuckled lightly. "Sure go for it." 

Ariel and Ruby got to work. Emma had to admit she did look pretty good. It didn't take too long for them to sort her hair out, and after Ruby picked some heels up off the floor and handed them to her. 

"Here put these on.”

Emma complied.

"Now come take a look at your hot self," Ruby said to her, getting her to stand up. 

Emma wobbled slightly then walked over to the fall length mirror. Emma stared at herself in amazement. She almost didn't recognize herself. 

Her hair had been curled and pinned up on her head a few loose locks framed her face. Ruby had put dark red lipstick on her and her eye make up made her look dark and mysterious. Her dress was tight on her body in all the right places. 

"Guys I look amazing. How the hell did you do that." Emma said turning around to face them with a stunned look on her face. 

"It was always there Emma you just needed some help," Ariel said to her with a bright smile. 

"Now come on let's go meet the others and then we can get our party on," Ruby said excitedly. During her makeover, Ruby and Ariel had somehow managed to get themselves ready too and they both looked incredible. 

"Let's do this," Emma said, feeling more confident than she had in a long time. 

They walked to the nearest Socal Room and saw others sitting around in a group all dressed up too. Emma couldn't help notice how Ruby's face looked when she saw Mulan. 

When they walked through the door they others looked up from their conversations. 

"Who knew that Emma Swan could be convinced to wear a dress!" August said getting up from his seat and walking over to them. 

"Yeah, damn girls, you all look amazing," Robin told them as Alice nodded in agreement. 

Mulan was just staring at Ruby in her dress. "Ruby, you look incredible," she finally said to her, her cheeks blushing a little when she did. 

"Thanks, so do you," Ruby complimented back, and to Emma's surprise, she was also blushing. 

"You girls look knock dead gorgeous," Jefferson said to them. "I mean not as gorgeous as I look but you're pretty damn close. Especially you, Emma...who would have thought those legs were hiding in your trousers this entire time." 

"Enough of all this! Let's get to that party so I can impress people with my amazing dance moves," Graham said hurrying out the door. 

"I guess we are leaving then," Ariel said excitedly. 

As they all walked down the hall, Emma could hear the music before she even reached the room. They walked through the doors and Emma took a few moments to take it all in. The place was lit up like a disco ball and the dance floor was full of people. There were people sitting mingling by the bar and at tables. 

"This looks awesome!” Ruby said excitedly. She yanked Emma and Ariel onto the dance floor. Emma almost fell over, not quite used to wearing heels; she already wanted to be rid of them. Alice, Robin, and Jefferson followed them to the dance floor, but the others went to the bar. 

From the dance floor, Emma keeps an eye on the rest of her crew. She also saw Hook sitting at a table nursing a drink in his hand and chatting up some poor girl. Cruella and Ursula were at the bar ordering drinks and gawking at men but she couldn't spot Maleficent. This made her nervous. 

She tried her best to distract herself from it all by focusing on having a good time with her friends. She danced for a while but Emma's feet grew sore; she decided to take a break and get a drink. Alcohol wasn’t a regular thing for her, but she needed something to help with the anxiety bubbling in her chest. She ordered a whiskey and coke and sat at the bar near August sipping it. 

"You know kid, these things are meant to be fun right?" He said to her, noticing the look on her face. She looked at her drink and sighed. 

"I’m not the party type. I kinda feel out of place. I don’t know how to act in this situation, you know?” she said to him. She didn’t like being this way. 

"You just need to let go a little. I know I'm not the best example of that but even I know that you are meant to have fun at these things," August told her. He held up his hand, signaling the bartender to get them each another drink. 

"I know, it’s just I have a lot on my mind at the moment." Emma couldn't shake the thought that she hadn't seen either Maleficent or Regina yet. 

"Ah, is this about you and a certain someone falling out?" August asked as he handed her a drink. 

"How did you…,” Emma sighed. “Ugh, Ruby. Why did I even ask? Sure, I guess. I just can't seem to shake her off. I know it's ridiculous and yet," Emma said to him defeatedly. August put his arm around her supportively. 

"I know that it sucks, but I'm sure if it was meant to be with you and her it will happen. Sometimes you just have to let fate do its thing." August took a sip of his drink. 

Emma nodded and looked back out onto the dance floor. It made sense what August told her. She should just let it go and maybe, just maybe, she and Regina would find each other. 

Emma became lost in her daydreams when she felt someone tap her on the arm. She looked down at a young boy who wasn't very old, maybe six or seven. There were a few of the crew children on board, and this must be one of them. Some people chose to raise them here rather on earth. 

"Hey, I'm Henry. My Mommy told me you're the best pilot ever. One day I want to be as good a pilot like you. I even built my own ship, see." He held up a space shuttle made of cardboard for Emma to see. 

"That's pretty neat, kid. Bet that's even better than the Baelfire," Emma said humoring him. 

His face lit up with excitement at her approval. "I called it ‘The Saviour.’ It helps everyone by making everyone happy." Henry made his rocket zoom around in the air with his hand. 

"Ah, ‘The Saviour;’ I like it." She chuckled as she watched him play with the rocket. 

He stopped and looked at Emma with a strange face. "You know what else I like to do? Play heroes and villains. Wanna play?" 

Emma couldn't refuse the cute little guy. "Sure which one am I gonna be." She asked him. He grinned at her excitedly. 

"You can be the hero and you have to catch me because I'm the villain," Henry said to her. 

"Okay well, you best get a-running villain because the hero always saves the day!" Emma pulled off the heels quickly and jumped off her seat. Henry ran off, chuckling as he went. 

Emma shoved the shoes in August’s arms and told him with a pleading tone. "Look after those would you? Ruby would kill me if I lost them." 

"Chasing a kid around wasn't really what I meant when I said you should be having fun but if that's what ya wanna do I promise to look after Ruby’s shoes," August laughed at her as he watched Emma bolt after the child. 

Henry had gained some distance on her and was taunting her from the other side of the room. Emma laughed and ran after him, weaving in and out of the people in the crowded room. She eventually caught up with him, nabbed him, and lifted him into the air. He wiggled about trying to get loose whilst laughing his head off. Emma couldn't help but laugh along with him. 

"Caught you, ruffian!" She exclaimed, throwing Henry playfully over her shoulder. It seemed to make him giggle even harder. Whilst the two were messing around she heard a familiar voice calling out Henry's name.

“Henry! Henry?” Regina said with some relief at finding her son, but her tone changed when she saw Emma. “Who is carrying you...oh...Miss Swan.” 

"Mommy! I found the lady you were talking about-THE best pilot!" 

Emma placed Henry safely back on the floor, surprised to encounter Regina. Henry ran up to Regina who picked him up and brushed his shaggy black hair out of his face which was red from laughing. 

"Regina...Henry is your kid?" Emma was surprised to find out she had a child. 

Regina was trying her best to ignore Emma. "Henry what have I told you about running up to strangers?" Regina scolded him lightly. 

"Not too. But mummy Emma isn't a stranger. I know who she is..." Henry said matter of factly. 

Regina chuckled. "Well I think it's time someone went to bed anyway, you have school in the morning." She said poking him lightly on the nose. 

"Can Emma come read me a story and have hot cocoa with us? Please. I promise I will go straight to bed after," Henry said in a cutesy voice. The kid sure had Regina wrapped around his little finger, because she sighed and finally acknowledged Emma. 

"Do you wanna come over for cocoa?" Regina asked unenthused; Emma could see how uncomfortable she was about being forced to invite her. 

Henry turned to Emma, taking her hand, "Please, Emma! We have cinnamon and everything." 

Emma wanted to make up some excuse, but she didn't want to let Henry down. "Sure thing kid. I'll come to help your mum make sure you, the villain, stays put," Emma said to him. 

He chuckled at her. "I'm not a villain anymore, silly. I'm the pilot of the Saviour now. Mummy is Captain and you can be my assistant pilot," He said to her with a cheeky smile. 

"Deal," Emma replied before looking at Regina to see what she thought. When she did muster up enough courage to look at her, she saw her looking at Henry with a soft smile on her face. She was relieved to see that they were on the same page, for Henry’s sake. This told Emma how much she loved Henry. 

"Come on Assistant Pilot, let's go put our pilot to bed," Regina said to Emma who smiled awkwardly at her. They walked to Regina's living quarters. Regina let Henry down and he ran inside. 

"Sorry about this Emma. Ever since I told him I was going to be your Captain he's been obsessed with meeting you and then tonight he must have worked out you'd be at that party and ran off to come find you," Regina said to her as they walked through the door to her quarters. 

"It's okay. Honestly, he's the most fun I had the entire night. I don't know if it's me but parties are so boring. Dancing and drinking in a crowded loud room just aren't my idea of fun."

"I'm glad he was found in all honesty. He has a habit of going on adventures. The number of times he's turned up when I've been in the middle of a meeting are uncountable." Regina remarked as she watched Henry run around the living room with his spaceship. 

"He's a good kid with a wild imagination. I'm glad he found me. It saved me from the party," Emma chuckled. "You never mentioned you had a kid." 

"I try to leave my personal life out of my work life. It's usually better that way. Most of the people I work with know but I'd rather they see me as a Captain, not just Henry's mom." Regina finally looked at her. "It seems he's taken a shining to you, however. He hasn't shut up about wanting to meet you. You're a hero in his eyes." 

"Why? I've never saved anyone," Emma said plainly, she couldn't understand why this boy had sought her out. 

"Maybe not yet, but you’ve just started your career," Regina told her, looking her dead in the eyes. "Emma, you are going to be a hero. I've seen how you fly a ship; you didn't have to think twice about getting the shuttle here. Most first flyers would freak out, but you just did it."

"Well, it wasn't exactly hard. I just did what I've been taught to do." Emma was clueless as to what was so special about flying the pod. 

“I have seen it happen many times, and you are the first to sit in that control panel and not freak out. And as much as your reputation and accolades were from training, I was expecting to have to calm you down just like every single pilot that I’ve been Captain of. But you...you just did it. I know it doesn’t seem like a lot to you but trust me, it is.”

Emma didn’t know how to take the compliment. She stared at her feet and remained silent for a bit. She finally had Regina’s attention, so she decided to change the topic and say what has been consuming her mind since that night. "Ya know, after what happened in your room before we left...I thought you hated me." She looked up at her shyly. 

Regina raised her eyebrows and took a moment to answer "I'm not sure what to tell you, Swan. For some ungodly reason, and probably a bit too much apple cider, I started to talk too much and well, I panicked and I didn't know what else to do so I made you leave. I'm sorry if I upset you." Regina decided to just tell her the truth. She still wasn't ready to open herself up like that night but she was glad to know she hadn't scared Emma off completely. She'd become quite taken with the pilot.

Regina got up and walked over to Henry, picking him up. She tickled him slightly and he chuckled. "Anyway, there's a young boy who wants his bedtime story."

"Emma, will you tell me a story?" Henry asked her sweetly. Emma looked at Regina unsure what to do. Regina smiled at her slightly. 

"Sure kid. Your mom can tuck you in and we will read a book while she makes some hot cocoa," Emma said to him he smiled at her which made him look a lot like his mother. 

"Yay, come on Mommy," he said to Regina who chuckled and carried him to his bedroom. 

His room was small but decorated with spaceships and fairytale characters. He grabbed a book off the shelf and handed it to Emma. "Can you read me this one?" He asked her sweetly. Emma looked at the book. It was one she used to read a lot as a young girl. 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.' 

"This used to be one of my favorites when I was your age," Emma said to him. He grinned at her as Regina tucked him in and kissed his forehead. 

"I'll be right back sweetheart. I'll just go make us all a drink" She said to him before leaving Emma to read to Henry. Regina looked back at them. As Emma began to read to her son, she couldn't help the feelings that washed over her. Watching then together made her see Emma in a different light. Something about the young woman made Regina feel like her whole body was buzzing. She wasn't used to feeling so comfortable around someone she knew little about.


	13. chapter 11

Chapter eleven

Henry dropped off after Emma finished the book. She went to see where Regina was. She nervously walked into the living room where Regina was. She was sitting on the sofa. She was wearing glasses and was looking at some kind of report. She looked up at Emma as she walked into the room. 

"Hey," Emma said awkwardly to her. She didn't know what to do with herself now Henry was asleep. 

"Hey, want a drink? Something a little less potent than last time?" Regina said, pointing to a bottle that was on the table.

"Um, if that's okay with you," Emma said, feeling her entire body shake with nerves. 

"Would I ask you if it wasn't? Come and take a seat. I'll pour you a glass." 

Emma was unsure of what was happening. Regina had spent all this time ignoring her and now suddenly she wanted to drink together. Regardless, Emma did as she said and sat at the opposite side of the sofa. She wanted to put distance between them because she didn't want to make things more awkward. 

"Here take a sip. It's pretty good. One of the other Captains gave it to me as a congratulation." Regina said to her with a smile. She handed Emma the glass and tentatively took a sip. It wasn't too bad; it was better than whatever she was being served at the party. 

"It's pretty nice," Emma said, not having any idea what to say but enjoying talking to Regina again. The ache in her chest had dulled slightly. It was refreshing. 

"I have to say, Miss Swan, you're looking exceptional tonight. I have to admit I was a little stunned when I saw you with Henry. You definitely know how to pull off a dress." Regina said to her chuckling. She was still looking over her paperwork but gave a side glance to Emma who couldn’t help the blush that appeared on her face. 

"Thanks, I guess. Ruby and Ariel got me ready for the party. If it was up to me I would be in a shirt and jeans." 

"Well, I'm glad that you didn't," Regina replied. She focused on her paper whilst Emma fidgeted and siped her wine. "You know, considering how long most of these people have been aboard, you'd figure they would be competent to know how to do a report. Half of these don't even make sense," Regina said, her brow furrowing. She sighed and placed the paper on the table. “So how are you feeling about your first actual flight in Baelfire tomorrow? "

" Um…nervous. I've tried not to think about it. It's going to be the first time I step on the ship that my parents fought on. I think I'm going to need a little time to adjust to that. I want to do well by them but also I'm terrified I'll do something wrong," Emma shared. She had tried her best to not think about it. She knew how important it was that she got it right but she also knew how badly it could go wrong and now with Regina and all her new friends counting on her it was even more important she'd get it right. She couldn't forgive herself if something happened to them. 

"Trust me, I have your back and years of experience. There isn't much I haven't faced on that ship. Plus you have Ariel as your second hand and she seems more than able," Regina tried to reassure her. She could tell by Emma's face that she had calmed a little. 

"Regina, can I ask you a personal question?" Emma said shyly. She wasn't sure how Regina would react but she needed to ask. 

"Perhaps it depends on the question, dear," Regina responded nervously. There were a few things she wasn't ready to tell her yet. 

"I've heard rumors that you and Maleficent are, um, together?" Emma said, flinching a little when she said it. She didn't want to mess up but she needed to know the truth. 

Regina chuckled a little and shook her head. "If ‘together’ you mean ‘hooked up’ a few times, they yes. I'd rather you keep that to yourself though," Regina answered gladly. But when she looked over at Emma, she didn’t look satisfied with her reply.

"Oh sorry, I was just curious. I heard Cruella and Ursula talking about you in the dorm room.” 

"Well if they have nothing better to do then speculate about my sex life maybe it says more about them than me," Regina said finding it a little annoying that her crew was gossiping about her. "Anyway, it's nothing serious, we are just fooling around. Henry hasn't even met her, and I don't plan on it." 

"Then why bother sleeping with her?" Emma asked naively. She didn't understand why someone should be with someone if they didn't want to be with them. 

"It's more so because I needed a release. It's been a few years and, well, Maleficent made a move. Perhaps she is looking for more but I'm not," Regina said to her hoping it cleared it up a little for Emma. 

"That makes sense… I think." Emma said a little relieved but also feeling jealous that Maleficent was the person she chose. Realistically, she didn't want to be Regina's plaything, but part of her thought that maybe she wouldn't have minded if Regina had chosen her to be with instead of Maleficent. 

"I should probably get back to my bed. We have a busy day tomorrow. I don't want to be tired." Emma said before placing her empty glass on the table and standing up. 

Regina got up also. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow Emma Swan. I'm glad we sorted this mess out." Regina said to her with a smile. She walked Emma to the door. "Also thank you for being so good with Henry, I haven't seen him so happy in a long time. I'm afraid he might not leave you alone now though. He is quite attached to you" 

"I'll see you tomorrow at the Baelfire," Emma said before walking to the door. 

"Good night," Regina said to her as Emma walked away. She shut the door and went to sit back down on the sofa. Why had Emma wanted to know about her and Maleficent anyway? She didn't take Emma for the gossiping sort and surely she wouldn't care about something so inconsequential. 

Regina sighed and looked at her paperwork. She didn't feel like facing another shoddily done report. She finished her wine and decided maybe she would go to bed too. 

Emma stalked back to her shared room. She hated that she couldn't hide away from everyone. She didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. She walked through the door and saw that no one was back yet and sighed in relief. It would mean that her crew might be tired tomorrow but at least she got some peace. She walked into the shared bathroom and walked to the sink, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She grabbed a wet cloth and went to wipe off her makeup. She couldn't help but notice how different she looked with it on. She looked more mature, it felt strange to feel like a child but look like an adult on the outside. She remembered Regina complimenting her. She had felt a shiver come over her. Perhaps she should try this dressing up thing more often. She quickly pulled off her fancy dress and threw on her shorts and a tank top. She flopped on her bed and looked up at the blank white ceiling. She took a deep breath. 

She really appreciated that Regina was honest with her and didn’t shut her out, or worse, kick her out again! She needed the truth, even if hurt to find out she was having a relationship with Maleficent.

She couldn’t help but let the tears swell up in her eyes. She knew she was being stupid because Regina was never going to be hers. 

When she got into bed, she fell asleep so fast that she didn’t know how long she had been asleep until she was rudely awoken by her drunk friends barging through the door. Ariel heavily plonked herself down on her bed next to Emma's. The rest of her friends did the same. 

Ariel creepily looked at Emma, smiling smugly, when she said, "I saw you leave the party with Regina." 

Emma sighed. She should have known that one of her friends would have noticed. "Her son found me and he decided I should go back with them for a cocoa. Nothing else happened."

"Regina has a son?! Who would have thought it," Ariel said loudly, then hiccuped. "So she let you into her quarters, hum?" 

"Yeah because her son wanted me to read him ‘Snow White,’ not because she wanted to spend time with me," Emma told her chuckling. "If you don't mind I'm gonna get some more sleep before we have to take our frost ride on the Baelfire." Emma turned over and closed her eyes. 

"Come on Emma, Regina doesn't let just anyone into her living quarters," Ariel said to her. 

"She let Maleficent in there and according to Regina she doesn't like her," Emma stated. 

Ariel sighed and was quiet for a few moments. "Yeah but she let you spend time with her kid," Ariel said before she snuggled down to sleep herself. 

Emma had to admit that Ariel had a point but she wasn't going to let the fact that Henry wanted her to read to him be a reason to hope that Regina liked her. She knew better than to jump to conclusions. 

She closed her eyes once more and this time sleep took her. 

The next morning Emma woke up to her alarm clock buzzing at her. She pressed the off button and lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She couldn't get the night before out of her head. As much as she tried to distract herself, she couldn't help but feel closer to Regina; her feelings were so strong that she couldn’t stop herself from spiraling. She didn’t need this; today she needed to focus on the Baelfire and her crew. 

She placed her feet on the floor and sat up. She looked around at the rest of her crew, they were all still fast asleep, except for Mulan. Emma set her alarm an hour before everyone else to give her the time she needed to collect herself. She grabbed her things to take a shower. 

Once she was under the warm water she tried to let the thoughts of Regina wash away from her. But the thoughts were stubborn, and then they weren't as innocent as her previous ones–she felt a stirring in her stomach and heat below it grow.

She gave in. She let her hand slowly travel down her chest toward her lower body. She closed her eyes as her mind filled with images of Regina and her. 

She knew what she was about to do wasn’t helping her emotions go away, but she needed a release, and she couldn’t fight it; it was like her hand had a mind of its own. 

As she grew closer, her other hand reached up to cup her breast. She began to play with her nipple, realizing how sensitive they were. She felt her legs start to shake. She lowered herself to her knees and leaned up against the cold tile of the shower wall. As she touched herself the fantasy in her head became vivid. Part of her told her that what she was doing was wrong, but the part consumed with desire didn’t care. Her fingers sped up, and with each stroke she grew closer and closer to release. She pushed herself into the wall as pleasure began to consume her. She tried her best to keep quiet, but audible moans escaped her lips with each wave of pleasure. 

Unable to stifle the sounds that pushed past her parted lips, Emma’s fingers sped up and soon her body gave in. Emma moaned loudly. She slapped her hand over her mouth to quiet herself. She reveled in the wave of sensation course through her body–taking heavy breaths, her heart racing. After a few moments, her body went limp, her legs feeling like jelly. 

She looked around her, hoping nobody saw her. She quickly stood back up and resumed regular showering.

When she got back into the dorm everyone was awake, hungover, and seeming to regret the night before. Emma dried her hair and chuckled as she heard her friends groan about having to get up and get ready. 

Being ready before everyone else, Emma was able to grab breakfast before their crew meeting. She sat at an empty table sipping her coffee and eating pancakes. She was glad she had gotten up earlier than the others–not just because she had managed to grab the last of the pancakes, but also because she needed time to process what was happening in her head. She was having mixed feelings about flying the Baelfire. 

It was a moment of feelings and thoughts without Regina, but that didn’t last for very long––Regina walked into the cafeteria with Henry. Emma watched as they went to get their breakfast. She focused on her breakfast, trying to finish in peace, but her stomach felt like someone had just flipped it upside down. 

Henry came running over to her table with an excited look.

"Hey Emma, can me and Mommy sit with you? I have my favorite for breakfast, waffles," he said bouncing on the spot. 

Regina walked over to them holding their trays. Emma looked up to Regina who smiled at her. She looked like she was trying to apologize with her eyes. "Henry, I’m sure Miss Swan doesn’t want us bugging her while she’s eating.” 

Henry looked up at his mother with a frown. “But Mama, she’s all alone. She needs her crew with her.” Henry said it in a cutesy voice that neither Emma nor Regina could say no too. 

“Okay as long as Emma says we can,” Regina said to him with a smile. They both looked at Emma who was still stunned from Henry running up to her. 

“Yeah sure. An assistant pilot isn’t any good without the lead pilot and Captain,” Emma said to him. 

Henry and Regina sat at her table. Regina put Henry’s tray in front of him and poked the straw into his juice box. He licked his lips at the sight of his waffles that were drowned in syrup. He stabbed his fork into them happily and shoved a huge forkful into his mouth.

“Slow down kid you're gonna choke if you try to swallow it whole,” Emma said to him laughing at the young boy whose mouth was now covered in syrup. He made a big show of biting his waffles slowly which made both Emma and Regina giggle. 

“So Emma, how are you feeling about our first trip out on Baelfire,” Regina asked her in between sips of her coffee. 

“I think I’m feeling better than the rest of the crew. They didn’t get in until late last night. They were feeling it this morning!” Emma couldn't help but feel a little awkward being around Regina. Her activities that morning had made it worse. 

“Well, if they don’t kick themselves into gear we will have to make them. Lucky, I think Ruby and August managed to get to bed early, so at least we know we can rely on them.” 

“I think we can count on Mulan, too. Her bed was empty before I got up...but I can't remember her coming back last night either.” Now that Emma said it, she realized it was strange for her not to be in the room, but before she could worry about it, she spotted Mulan walking into the cafeteria, with Ruby and August. This surprised Emma, but not as surprised as she was when she saw Ruby holding hands with Mulan. Emma then guessed where she disappeared to last night. 

When the three of them grabbed their food, they spotted Emma, Henry, and Regina. Ruby winked at Emma who, knowing Henry was there, replied by sticking her tongue out at her. Henry copied her and giggled.

“Henry Mills is not a polite way to greet someone you've just met. Also, Miss Swan, you're setting a bad example for my child,” Regina said but Emma could see she found it amusing that Henry had copied her. 

“Yes, Emma how dare you be such a bad example,” Ruby said to her in a fake stern voice. 

“Yes we brought you up better than that,” August joined in. He put on his mock fatherly voice. Emma just chuckled at them as they joined them. 

“So Captain, when is lift-off?” Ruby asked Regina casually. 

It didn’t escape Regina at the ease in which they all came over and joined them. Usually her crews kept their distance. For one, she was the Captain, and two, she wasn’t known to be very friendly. But Emma and her friends did not have those distinctions. “We can lift-off soon as our crew is ready. I heard you all enjoyed yourself at the party last night.” Regina tried to make small talk; she could help but feel a little strange about sitting with them all.

“Yeah it was pretty fun. I have to say I’m pretty sure most of the crew are going to be hungover. They all had a little too much fun. Especially Ariel, that girl can drink!” Ruby said, clearly forgetting about Henry.

“Hey look! I can drink too!” he said grabbing his juice box and squeezing it so the juice poured into his mouth and all down his front. 

“Henry! Come on let's get you cleaned up before I drop you off with your Aunty Zelena.” Regina cleaned up the mess he had made. Regina made a mental note to not have small talk with Henry around. “I guess I’ll see you all at nine. Make sure the rest of the crew is ready.” She told them all before picking Henry up off his seat.

“See ya later Captain!” Ruby said to her with a grin. 

“Bye little man, behave yourself,” Emma said to Henry who grinned at her.

“Bye Emma! Good luck!” he yelled at her. He then stuck his tongue out at Ruby again, and Ruby copied him.

“Thank you for that Miss Swan. Make sure you’re ready. I’m not going to go easy on you,” Regina said before walking away with Henry on her hip. 

Emma watched as they left the room.

“Damn girl you got it bad!” Ruby nudged her, smirking at her. 

Emma hit her on the arm lightly.


	14. chapter 12

Chapter twelve

Ruby and August had somehow managed to wrangle the crew together by nine. It had taken some doing and a whole pack of aspirin but they were ready to go. Emma had been the first to arrive; she was buzzing to get on to the Baelfire. She arrived twenty minutes early to watch them do safety checks. They were going to be up there for at least a week so everything needed to be meticulously checked and rechecked because the smallest thing could cost them their lives. 

Emma’s first glimpse of the Baelfire had blown her mind. It looked so much different than she had expected. She had seen images of it before but nothing compared to the actual thing. She walked around, taking in as much of it as she could before Mulan and Ruby turned up. Emma hadn’t spotted them, so Ruby took advantage and snuck up on her and scared her. Mulan took no part and assisted the crew in doing safety checks. 

“So, Em, you ready to pilot this big o’beast?” 

Emma shrugged. “I mean, ready as I’ll ever be. Knowing that you guys trust me gives me confidence. I don’t think I could have done any of this without you and August.”

Ruby pulled her into a hug. “No kid, you got here all on your own. We just made sure that you had the help and support when you needed it.” Ruby squeezed Emma. 

“So, I couldn't help noticing how close you and Mulan have gotten. Care to share?”

When Ruby let her go, she had a huge smile on her face. “Yeah she’s pretty cool. I explored a bit when I was younger, you know, but it's been a while since I’ve been interested in any guy. Mulan is special though, there's just something about her. She um slept over last night too. We didn’t do anything but talk, but it was amazing. I’ve never wanted to talk to someone as much as I have her.”

Emma could tell how taken Ruby was by Mulan just by looking at the happiness spread across her face. 

“We haven't made it official yet, but I’m just waiting to see where she wants us to be. She’s a little shy about it all but she has told me she likes me.”

“Well that's adorable.” Emma chuckled and Ruby blushed. 

“I say go for it. I think she's into you as much as you are into her. I mean she spent the night in your cabin. She doesn't seem like the kind of person to do that if she didn’t like you” 

“I guess. Maybe, but not now. The party was special, but I won’t pursue anything more while we are working. She will get to see each other in a professional environment too. I’m not exactly the same person.”

Emma understood because there was a difference. Work-Ruby was serious and not laid back. She took her job seriously. It was strange to see, and it’s what most people saw and knew of Ruby. Emma was used to seeing happy-go-lucky Ruby. That is what Mulan saw. But Ruby was smart to give Mulan the time needed to see the difference too, and not be turned off at the two Ruby's. 

Regina approached them whilst they were chatting she looked slightly peeved. 

"Miss Swan, Miss Lucas. Where the rest of my crew? I can see that our System Technician is here, but that is all?" Regina said, her voice more tense than usual. 

"August is making sure they’re all here," Ruby quickly replied to Regina. Ruby worried that she might get told off. Regina looked at her expectantly and silent. Ruby spoke up, "I'll go give him a hand." She walked away. 

"Regina, what's the matter? You seem tense," Emma spoke in a low voice and concerned that something was wrong. 

"I'm fine, Miss Swan. My sister is just insufferable." Regina said irritably, clearly very annoyed. She then walked away from Emma. 

Emma sighed. Perhaps today wasn't going to be as calm as she'd like it to be. She would just have to focus on doing her best and hope that nothing bad happened during their test flight. 

Ruby returned with the rest of the crew. They stood around the ship and waited for Regina to emerge from inside it. She looked at the crew with annoyance. They seemed to straighten up a bit higher. Regina sighed, trying to regain her composure before addressing them. Her voice came out less aggressive than when she spoke with Emma and Ruby.

"Finally, everyone is here. Now before we board I'd like to make sure everyone knows what to expect. This is just a basic mission to allow us all to get used to the ship and working together as a crew. We will be following one of the smaller fleets into a small disturbance to make sure that they stay safe." Regina looked over her crew. They all appeared confused. She sighed. "Follow me."

Regina led them into the ship which was huge and spacious, clearly made for long journeys. She led them first to the control room. 

"This will be the main room we all use, for obvious reasons. Those two seats at the front of the large control panel belong to Emma and Ariel. The one just behind and in between them is my chair. The seats just behind my chair on either side belong to August and Ruby. On either side of the room there are five seats. On the left is Hook, Pan, Maleficent, Ursula, and Cruella. On the right side it will be Graham, Alice, Robin, Mulan, and Jefferson."

She continued to show them the ship. “Towards the back of the ship, the first door to the right is the food area. Food is not to be brought out into the control room. I will not have sticky keys because someone decided to eat lunch at their panel. That can cause an accident. On the left is the men's bathroom, next to that the woman's. Each one of you gets thirty minutes to get showered and ready for the day. Next to that is the bunk room, you can keep your personal belongings in the lockboxes under each of your bunks.

Across the hall are August and Ruby's rooms. If you have any issues, go through them so they can tell me. In the back, are my room and the suite room. No one is to enter either of these without my permission. The other direction is the engine room. Everyone got that? " She asked them to turn around to face them. They all were looking around the cramped area of the hallway. "Has everyone got that?!" She asked louder. 

They all nodded. Emma was wondering how long it would take until a few fights broke out. It was bound to happen with so much time spent in small spaces.

"Before we get to work has anyone got any questions?" Regina asked. Nobody said a word. "No? Okay, everyone has twenty minutes to go sort out their bunk spaces and meet back in the control room for lift off." 

Everyone took their stuff into the bunk room. Maleficent, Cruella, Ursula, Pan, and Hook took swift liberty to choose the bunks at the back. Emma picked the bunk between Ariel and Graham. Jefferson was next to him. Then, Alice, Robin, and Mulan chose the bunks on the other side of them. Alice and Robin had pushed their bunk together as they had in their dorm room. Emma and Ariel giggle at the sight of the two girls trying to move the creaky heavy, metal bunks. 

After they had all sorted their stuff out they went back to the control room where Regina, August, and Ruby were waiting for them. August and Ruby were already seated and Regina stood watching everyone take their correct places. Emma was beginning to feel a little more nervous. She took her seat and shook her hands as a way to get them to stop shaking. They didn't however, she looked at Ariel who was looking just as nervous. Regina must have noticed because she came up between them both. 

"Everyone, strap yourself in and get ready for our pilots to begin to lift off procedure." Regina placed a hand on both of their shoulders. Emma looked up to Regina needing a little more encouragement. Regina looked down at her, nodded, and smiled. 

"Start powering the engine, Miss Swan. Ariel, set the coordinates Mr. Jones has sent to you," Regina told them. The two quickly did as she asked. "Technician, please verify the Baelfire is ready to launch."

"All is in order, Captain," Pan told her. 

"Okay on the count of ten Miss Swan please start to move us slowly outside of the base." Regina still had her hand on her shoulder, and squeezed her shoulder lightly. Emma nodded as she and Ariel began to guild the ship carefully out. 

"As soon as we have a clear exit I will proceed with the count down and you may hit the thrusters," Regina told them. 

This was a slightly tricky part, because Emma and Ariel had to hit the buttons at the same time.

Regina began to count as Emma and Ariel drove the ship slowly. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two..." Emma and Ariel listened carefully, their fingers hovering over the buttons. They looked at each other. "...one!" 

They both hit their buttons, the thrusters ignited, and the ship started to move into space. 

"Now, set her for flight mode and we will be on our way," Regina said with pride in her voice. 

Emma and Ariel sent the ship to flight mode, and they looked at each other with glee and satisfaction.

After they had been out for a while Regina deemed it safe for the crew to leave their stations. Everyone was relieved to be able to leave their chairs for a little while. 

Emma and Ariel stayed in the control room to make sure they stayed on course. The others left to get food and drink. 

"So any idea why we are here?" Ariel asked Emma who shrugged, stood up, and shook her legs, trying to get the blood running back to her feet. 

"I'm guessing it's just a practice flight. There isn't something going on but we are meant to believe there is. They wouldn't send us straight into battle on the first mission," Emma replied.

"So we just float about and make sure nothing is coming for us or our fleets," Ariel said slumping down in her chair. 

"Well, I suppose it's more to see how we all work as a team. Regina probably wants to see what we are like out here.”

"So you and Regina...you guys are talking now?" 

"I'm not sure. Part of me believes she wants to be friends, or she's being civil. Her kid is pretty adorable though," Emma admitted. She was glad she had met Henry. The kid was funny and sweet. She was sure Henry got it from his mother. She had gotten glimpses of it.

Emma and Ariel decided to fetch food from the kitchen. The rest of her friends were in there too laughing and joking about. Emma saw Ruby and Mulan talking together in the corner. Emma wasn't surprised that Ruby had gravitated towards Mulan. She always had a thing for people who could look after themselves in a fight. 

They were all making their way back to the control room when they heard a commotion on the other side of the locked room. Emma entered in her key to open the door. 

They saw Regina, Hook, and Maleficent arguing about something.

"I told you both that if there were any issues go to August or Ruby," Regina told them heatedly. "I never said try to solve them yourself. This is how we get put in danger, you absolute idiots!"

"Captain, in all honesty, I didn't see an issue with it," Hook told her, trying his best to stay calm. 

Maleficent however was fuming. When she spoke to the Captain, it was almost shouting. "What else were we meant to do! We noticed a blip on the radar and no one was in here!" 

Regina shouted back at her. "You still come to one of your superiors! You do not go ahead and throw all of your crew into danger like this. We've now been put in a position that could end up badly for all of us!" Regina turned away from them and she saw the rest of her crew hovering just outside. She glared at the lookie-loos and barked, "Everyone to your positions!"

They all quickly took their seats. All confused as to what was happening. 

Regina tried to regain her composure and took her place at her Captain’s chair. She addressed the crew, "Thanks to Hook and Maleficent, we now have a UFO following us because they thought it would be a good idea to draw attention to ourselves. Emma, I need you to escape from them."

"I'll do my best Captain," Emma said, taking the ship off automatic to manual. She looked at the blimp on the radar and noticed how close it was to Baelfire. She did her best to pull the ship away from the UFO, but matter how fast she went, the blip on the screen kept the same distance. Emma felt Baelfire should be able to outrun this UFO, but no amount of maneuvers or thruster jets she tried could get them away. "Captain, I can’t shake them. I think we need to fight it off."

"No, pilot, we are in no position to fight off anything. None of you have that kind of training or experience," Regina told her sternly. 

Emma turned to look Regina dead in the eyes. "I'm telling you, Captain. I can't outrun this ship. And by its diagnosis, it is a fighting ship, heavily weaponized. I am sure it intends to attack us if it gets the chance," Emma said to her seriously. 

"I said no Swan! I can see the information myself. We are not putting ourselves in a position where we are open to attack," Regina said sternly. 

Emma turned back to her panel. She watched as the ship approached closer. She tried her best maneuvers. A few moments later Baelfire was hit by a projectile. The panels in front of them lit up, showing them where the damage had been taken. There was a red marker that shone out of the back of the ship.

Emma looked at Regina who was looking a little out of sorts. 

"Captain, we could use one of Balefire's projectiles just to distract it," Emma said to her wanting to help. 

"No, I told you none of you are trained for that. Instead, I want you to turn the ship and fly as fast as you can pass it. Hopefully, it will slow it down enough we can get enough distance to disappear from its radar. We're going to play a game of chicken" Regina told her. Emma lifted an eyebrow but did as her Captain said. She turned the ship around as fast as she could and waited a few minutes for it to get closer. Just as it reached the spot it wanted to be in she and Ariel made the ship swoop under it and used the thrusters to get away. 

Just as Regina had hoped, it was enough of a distraction to get away. Emma and Ariel used everything they had to gain distance. When Emma looked at her radar, she saw that the ship was now far enough away. They escaped. 

"Did you not listen to what I said, Swan!" Regina shouted once they were safe. "When I tell you you are not allowed to use the ship's weapons I expect you to listen the first time."

Emma turned to her, angry that Regina hadn't let them do what they needed to do. "I was just trying to help, I thought that would be the only way we could flee," Emma argued back. 

Regina stood up from her chair and walked over to Emma's looming over her. Emma looked directly at her.

"Miss Swan,” Regina began, gritting her teeth. “I am your Captain when I say not to do something that means you don't do it. Next time this happens you will be put on suspension." 

Emma stood up. "In all respect, Captain I did as you said. That ship managed to damage ours in one hit. This ship may be strong but there are only so many projectiles it will take. At the time I thought using one of ours was our only option." Emma said to her. 

Regina stared at her heavily. "Pilot, I think it's best if you spend the rest of today in the bunk room. I expect you to come to my room tomorrow for a chat about what following orders means." 

"Whatever, It was the only thing I thought we could have done, Regina. To protect all of us." Emma stated before walking away from them all. 

She had been Captain for a few years but this was the first time she had piloted the Baelfire. She didn't want to lose this chance to prove her worth because her crew was too hot headed to think before shooting; this was Regina's last resort. 

She spent the rest of the day somber. She was angry at herself and Emma. She knew that they should have turned to fight but everything she had ever been taught had told her she shouldn't have. She knew Emma was angry because Regina put her foot down but that was her job. 

Emma's friends were angry with Regina too. They followed orders but none of them would look at Regina. August and Ruby understood why Regina said no to fighting. They had been in too many battles to know that ship could have brought down theirs in minutes if it hadn't scared it off.


	15. chapter 13

Chapter thirteen

When the day was coming to an end, Ruby approached Regina. Regina didn't see her; she was so stuck in her head. 

Ruby tapped her shoulder lightly. "I know what Emma did was wrong, but I would be wrong if I didn't say that she did the right thing" 

"I know that, Ruby but she was going to shoot that ship without me saying so. I can't let her think that she can do what she wants. That is a sure path to death. Even you should know that."

"Trust me I do. I'm just asking….go easy on her. She's not like the rest of them, she's grown up surrounded by this job, it's her life. She thought what she felt doing was right. In school they always told us if you can, fight."

"Thank you, Ruby. I understand that she was doing as she was taught but it's not the same up here. If we can get away from a situation we do. She needs to know her place in this crew." Regina told her before standing up and retreating to her room for the night. 

She sighed as she got dressed in her silk pajamas. She hated that she had played the Captain card with Emma but it was for her own good. Regina knew what happened when people ignored protocol. She had seen it first hand. She had once been like Emma ready to throw away the rules and fight against her superiors to do what she thought was best. It had ended devastatingly bad. She had lost her only friend and confidante. His name was Robin, they had been on the same crew when she was first placed up here. He had been like Emma, nieve, and ready to save the day. The only thing it got him, in the end, was misery. 

They had been heading out on their last mission before returning to Earth. Henry had been two years old at the time. Her crew had been sent out on a mission to recover a ship that had fallen in battle. It should have been a safe job. The enemy hadn't been seen near the ship in a few days, so the head of the base said it was safe for their crew to venture out. Robin had been her Navigator/Weapon expert. They had been working together for some time and Regina would have been lying to herself if she didn't say she was falling for him. They had been dating for a few months and Regina was finally healing from losing Daniel. 

Robin was the first to spot an enemy ship still hovering around the area they were heading to. He hadn't bothered to tell anyone that they could be in trouble. He thought he was able to sort it out by himself. He took everyone on the ship headfirst into trouble. The Captain demanded to know what was happening but he didn't listen. 

Robin had charged in and thought he was good enough to fight the enemy himself, but he had been wrong. The enemy turned its weapons on them immediately. Before their Captain realized what he had done, it was too late. The ship got shot down instantly. It was so disastrous that everyone had to evacuate in escape pods, but most of the crew didn’t make it. Robin and Regina and a few others managed to get in a pod. Regina thought they were safe, but the enemy began shooting at escape pods as they shot out from the ship. Regina watched from the tiny window Robin’s pod get hit, and explode. The others had fallen to the same fate. 

Regina yelled his name as her pod safely made it away from the destroyed ship. All she remembered after that was sinking to the ground in tears. She had lost her entire crew. 

After Regina had yelled at her to spend the rest of the day in the bunk room, Emma had angrily slumped on her bed. Her hands were in tight fists as she tried to gain control of her anger. She knew that Regina would be angry at her. She took shakey deep breaths and she soothed her frustration. She didn't get angry a lot but when she did it usually took sometimes for her to chill out. 

She sat on her bed with her knees up to her chest hugging them tightly to her. Part of her wanted to storm back out there and give Regina what for but she knew that would only get her into further trouble. So she opted to read her book and tried to calm down that way. The problem was she couldn't focus on the book, her head kept throwing thoughts of Regina at her. 

Emma had no idea how long she had been sitting in the room trying to control her thought process but it was long enough for everyone to have finished for the day. Ruby and August came in to see her before everyone came into sleep. 

"Hey kiddo, I know it was rough earlier but you have to understand that every decision must go through Regina. The weapons are used as a last resort. What Regina did was the right course of action. I know you panicked and thought that fighting was our only course of action but Regina has been doing this a long time." August said to her as he and Ruby approached her bed. Emma looked up at them and frowned at August. Of course, she understood that she should have been punished. She had concluded that she was angrier that Regina had shouted at her and that it was In front of her entire crew.

Ruby sat next to Emma and August sat at the foot of her bed. Ruby put an arm around her and pulled her into her. 

"Look Em's, I know this is going to be difficult for you, you're not usually one to ask questions first when it comes to this sort of thing. Also, the fact that it was Regina probably didn't help. She's a little stricter than the other Captains and it sometimes clouds her judgment. Maybe over time the two of you will work out how to help each other but for now, it's up to you to take it easy and let Regina be in charge." Ruby said to her. Emma nodded knowing Ruby was right, she loved her dysfunctional family and was so glad they had been sent out with her. She loved having her new friends about but it wasn't like being able to talk to Ruby and August she knew she could trust them to not overreact or spread rumors. 

"I know, I'm sorry. I guess I just freaked and knew if I didn't do something then it could end badly." Emma said truthfully. She didn't want her first ride in Baelfire to be her last. She also didn't want any of her crew to get hurt, even Hook. 

"I know, kid. I'm not saying what you did wasn't right I'm just saying next time remember Regina is the best person to listen too." August told her softly. "Well, we best go so you and the rest of them can sleep." He said and kissed Emma lightly on the forehead. Ruby squeezed her and then they got up off the bed and went to their rooms. 

The crew entered the room, they were chatting and laughing as they walked into the room. Ariel was talking to Alice and Robin who were giggling at something she had said. Graham, Jefferson, and Mulan were mucking around play fighting. They went to their bunks and started getting ready to go to bed.

"Hey, Emma, for what it's worth me and the guys think you were being super brave and we think Regina could have been a little nicer to you about it," Ariel said to her sitting down on her bunk. 

"No she was right in the end, I should have listened to her to begin with. Me interfering could have gotten us killed." Emma said sadly. Ariel looked at Emma and sighed. 

"Because of you we are okay and not being followed and attacked, I'm glad we have such a good pilot and Captain," Ariel told her. 

"I just wanted to prove that I was ready for Regina but instead I just proved I'm a total idiot," Emma said lying down on her bed. 

"Maybe, but I know you're not an idiot and I think Regina knows that too. Emma it's going to take time to prove ourselves but I know we are all going to go far. I mean even Cruella is pretty good at her job." Ariel admitted. Cruella must have heard her because she snarled at Ariel who poked her tongue at her in retort. 

"Your right, I just want it so bad," Emma said. "I think I'm going to get some sleep. I want to be well-rested for my telling off tomorrow" She said a little sarcastically.

"It's all going to work out Emma you'll see," Ariel said to her before laying down herself.

Emma got up the next day at the same time as the others. She quickly got ready for the day and went to get some breakfast. She pulled out some cereal and made a coffee. She had just about finished eating when Regina came in. 

"Hello, Emma, could you follow me to my room please I'd like to chat," Regina said as she made a coffee. She didn't look at Emma as she talked to her. 

"Yes, Captain," Emma said in a tight voice. She followed Regina to her room. 

It was your basic ship room. There was a double bed with a metal frame. A wooden oak dresser, a matching bedside table with a desk lamp on, and a bookshelf filled to the brim. Emma smiled slightly at the sight of it. There were drawings from Henry spotted about and a few pictures of him and Regina together some had another woman in which Emma figured was Regina's sister. 

There was a door that Emma guessed led to a private bathroom, and a black sleek leather sofa with a small coffee table in front of it placed in one of the corners. 

Regina went and sat on the sofa and tapped the space next to her. 

"Take a seat, Emma," Regina said. Her tone was leveled and calm. For some reason, this made Emma more on edge than she was before. Even so, Emma did as Regina said and took a seat next to her. Regina sighed heavily, she took a sip of her coffee. 

The way Regina was acting made Emma feel extremely awkward; her legs began to bounce up and down. Regina gave a side glance that told Emma she found the movement annoying. Emma immediately stopped. 

"Sorry, I'm nervous," Emma said quietly looking down at the floor. 

Regina placed a delicate hand on Emma's thigh. Emma taken by surprise looked up at Regina. "I'm sorry I was so rude yesterday Emma. I was very on edge and the little mishap didn't help. I understand that being in that situation is scary. I just wanted to make sure you knew that I can't have you doing things that are dangerous without my permission." Regina said looking at Emma as she talked. Emma nodded and her voice was a little lost because of how nervous she was to be around Regina and the feelings that were running rampant inside her as Regina looked into her eyes. 

"It's okay, I'm sorry I reacted the way I did too. I know what I wanted to do was wrong, I just didn't want to lose anyone" Emma told her trying her best not to get lost in Regina's beautiful brown eyes. Regina smiled at her, the same smile she had given Emma the day they first met. It took Emma's breath away a little. Emma smiled back at her. 

"I'm glad we talked to Emma. You're the one person I've met around here that doesn't shy away from me like I'm some monster or as if I'm going to fire them for the stupidest thing. I know I come across strict but with a job like mine it comes with the territory." Regina said to her as she again picked up her mug and took a sip. Emma felt a little more relaxed and did the same except she pretty much missed her mouth and it dribbled down her chin. 

Without thinking, Regina lifted her hand to wipe it delicately off. A few moments after she realized what she had done. Emma was stunned, but she was not scared or offended, as Regina expected. They both found each other staring into one another's eyes. 

There was a knock on the door that interrupted the moment. Regina was the first to break their intense stair and stood up to make her way to the door. Emma picked up her cup and took a sip, faking a sense of nonchalance. 

"I'm coming," Regina said as she reached the door and opened it. Behind the door was Ruby and August. 

"Captain we have a bit of a problem," August said. His voice seemed urgent and panicked a little masked with a professional front of calmness. 

Regina sensed his mannerism, and she became concerned. "What's the problem?" 

Ruby and August looked at each other then back at Regina. 

"Captain, we have scanned another UFO following us. This time it's keeping its distance but we're unsure why." Ruby told her. 

Regina looked back at Emma who heard what Ruby said. They looked at each other with shock. 

"Pilot, I believe that it's time we get back to work," Regina said to Emma who nodded and they all made their way to the control room.


	16. chapter 14

Chapter fourteen

Everyone was sitting at their panels waiting for instructions from Regina who was looking through the readings that were in front of her. 

"Okay crew, our first cause of action is to try and accumulate as much information from this ship as possible. I would like Graham and Cruella to work on that. For the rest of you please do as much as you can to use your skills to figure out who we are dealing with." Regina asked them all. 

Everyone got busy doing as she said. For Emma and Ariel, it was to keep as steady a course as possible so everyone could get their readings. Regina was looking through the information sent to her by everyone's separate panels. Emma watched as Regina's face got more and more confused. It worried Emma that even their Captain was baffled by what was happening. 

"I think our best cause of action at this moment in time is to abort our mission," Regina said. She made her decision based on what wasn’t in the reports; that lack of key information made her nervous. 

"On it Captain," Emma said as Hook sent her the coordinates and she programmed them into her system. She and Ariel used their maneuvers to lose the unknown ship then set their course to go back to base. 

Emma noticed that Regina was on edge the whole time.

Regina had no idea what to do with the unknown ship that was following them; once was a coincidence but twice, they must be planning to attack them. It unnerved her to be followed like that. Even more daunting than that was the fact that she was going to have to explain this to the base Captain–she knew her reasons were valid, but she also knew how the uppers would see it. 

Later on, that day, when they were nearing the base most of the crew were either in the kitchen or in the bunk room. Emma had decided to stay at her panel in the vain hope of finding anything that could help Regina, who had been the first to retreat to her room when it was safe.

Emma sighed heavily, she felt like hitting her head on the table but knew from experience that didn't help. She couldn't understand why the ship following them was unidentifiable. She thought most ships in their space were accounted for. 

She groaned and relaxed back in her chair and closed her eyes. She knew she needed to stop obsessing because she could feel a headache behind her eyes start.

Behind her, she heard the locked door open and someone walk through. She didn't bother looking at who it was because at this point she wanted to close her eyes and take a nap. 

"Miss Swan, why are you still in here? The rest of the crew are in their dorm room getting ready for bed." Regina asked her. Emma turned around in her spinning chair. She looked at Regina who could see that her eyes were reddened by her focusing on reading and being exhausted. 

"I just wanted to help you figure this out. I hate that someone is targeting our ship. It's one thing going into battle or being attacked, but it's another knowing there's someone out there who is hunting us." 

Regina sat in Ariel's seat next to Emma. Emma sat up straight and faced Regina who was already facing her. 

"Thank you for wanting to help Emma but you can't make yourself ill because of it. The crew needs you to be in good shape. You should be sleeping and eating than to have you so burnt out from trying to figure this out. It's telling me that you're not focusing on your job." Regina told her softly. 

Emma didn’t say anything back. She nodded but slouched back into her chair, closing her eyes. Regina looked over the younger woman. She thought about how much more mature Emma seemed compared to her usual recruits, and how serious she took her job. She was the only crew member who was here, concerned about this issue; this was Captain-level thinking. Like herself, chances are, Emma had been forced to grow up fast. Regina couldn't help feel some kind of connection to her. Emma finally looked over at her and noticed the way Emma looked at her. It wasn’t as her Captain but as herself. No one had looked at her like that since Daniel. 

Regina was beginning to think maybe she needed to address these newfound feelings for Emma. It scared her more than she could admit but she knew she needed to face up to them before she could no longer tame them. 

Emma shied away from Regina's eyes. Had Regina been looking at her all this time? The thought gave her butterflies in her stomach. Regina continued to stare at her, and she stared back, her eyes darting to all the features on her face and how beautiful she was. This didn’t help her butterflies; now her heart was thumping in want for her. When she looked back up at Regina, she panicked. She decided now was a good time to get up.

"I think you're right. I should head to bed," Emma said stretching and making over the top stretching sounds.

Regina watched her stretch and continued to look at her smiling. She said to her softly, "Okay Goodnight Emma," 

Coming out of her stretch, Emma heard the way Regina said that and it made chills go through Emma. She felt the need to hide how much Regina's voice had affected her. "Good night Captain," Emma said quickly, and left promptly, in case she said something or did something inappropriate. 

Regina watched her run from her. She chuckled to herself. It was clear to Regina that Emma also felt the mood between them was more than just Captain and Pilot. There was a connection between them; this intimacy she had never felt before with anyone, not even Maleficent. Regina couldn't understand why. She could rationalize why: The young woman was an amazing pilot and had proven herself more than capable of handling her responsibilities but there was something else there that made Regina believe they were heading towards something more than just colleagues. Seeing Emma with Henry had been an eye-opener for her too; her son had never been so taken with any of her other crew members or friends. 

She smiled at herself as she looked over the notes Emma had left on the system. As she looked through them she could tell just when Emma had begun to get tired; some of the suggestions she was making, and the equations she had written down, were more comical than realistic. Some of them made her chuckle, such as "the opposing forces have new ships used for scouting" or "a new organization was trying to seek them out.” As she got further down the page she read notes like "it was a mirage but in space rather than the desert" and "there's something in our water that made us all hallucinate the same thing."

However, there was one suggestion right at the bottom of the notes that made Regina pause. All it said was "Mom and Dad." Regina was unsure what Emma meant by this, but she had a feeling that like herself, Emma was still battling her childhood trauma. She frowned to herself, saddened by the fact that even at twenty-one, Emma still hoped her parents were out there somewhere. 

Something about them disappearing never sat right with Regina. Sure, she wasn't their biggest fan, they had their problems working with each other but she still was curious, maybe even cared, as to what happened to them. Rumple had put out a report that they all died, but there wasn't full proof of that. Their ship flew back when Rumple activated the retrieval system, but they weren’t inside; and other than a few minor hits, the ship showed no evidence of an attack, or any foul play. To Regina, that just said they were gone, not dead. If Emma knew all of this, she could see how she still had a sliver of hope. She would also.

Regina sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes. She too could do with going to bed. It had been a long day and tomorrow promised to be an even longer one. Not only was she having to return her crew to base, but she was also going to have to explain herself to George. Everyone referred to him behind his back as 'King George' and that nickname was not meant as a good thing. 

The next morning Regina woke up earlier than usual hoping to get a head start on the day; a day that promised to be a challenge. She took her morning shower and then settled on just coffee for breakfast. She walked into Control and found Emma already sitting once again at the panel, this time with Ariel. They were talking quietly to each other. Regina walked over to the two women. Emma looked up at her and smiled at Regina who automatically smiled back at her. Ariel noticed the exchange.

"Hey, Captain. Ariel and I have set the course to take us back to base. Looking at the panel we will be back at the ship by one this afternoon." 

Hearing this made Regina glad she had such a dedicated crew this flight around. It told her she had a group of people who knew their jobs were important, unlike past crews that made her feel like a micromanager and less of a commander.

"Well done Pilot, I'm glad to see you looking awake and alert," Regina said, placing a hand on Emma’s shoulder. Emma looked at her hand and then backed up at Regina, giving her a shy smile. 

Not wanting to be obvious in her growing affection for Emma, Regina squeezed Ariel’s shoulder too before walking away to take her seat. “Good job, Pilot.” 

"It was no problem Captain, we just wanted to make sure we were ready. We want our Captain to look her best." Ariel turned to look at Regina who was already seated. She had her eyes fixed on Emma. It took a moment for Regina to take her eyes off of Emma and look at Ariel in acknowledgment. 

Over the last few days, Ariel felt as if they were becoming closer. She didn’t ask Emma anything, and certainly, she would never ask her Captain such personal things. But from the exchange she just witnessed, she was sure she was right; it excited her to watch this unfold. 

"Ariel, would you be so kind as to go fetch the rest of our crew? They all need to do a report on the system about yesterday's issues." Regina told the red-headed girl who nodded and stood up. She flashed a smirk in Emma's direction. Emma just rolled her eyes at her sarcastically. Once Ariel was out of earshot, Emma went back to work. 

They were alone again in Control. There was something Regina wanted to ask Emma, and now would be a perfect time, but she was a little hesitant. She didn't know why she felt no nervous. She took a few seconds to sort through her thoughts.

“Miss Swan I was wondering if I could ask you a favor,” Regina said, doing her best to hide the tremble in her voice. Emma turned to face her in her chair with a grin. 

“Sure, what do you want me to do?” A favor? It made Emma glad that Regina was reaching a level of comfort to ask for a favor. When Emma saw Regina, she noticed she looked a little flustered. 

“I was wondering if you would come to my sister's cabin tonight when I pick up Henry. It’s just she wants to meet you for some reason and if I don't bring you along she will never shut up about it.” Regina only lied a little about why she wanted Emma to come with her. Regina thought that if Zelena met Emma she would be able to help Regina work out what she was feeling for the woman.

“Sure, I mean she sounds a bit scary but I’m sure it will be fun,” Emma said, excited to meet Zelena and also getting to hang out with Henry again.

“Thank you, “ Regina said with a soft smile falling on her lips. She looked down at her panel and saw that Emma and Ariel had done a good job of making sure the Baelfire gets back safely. She relaxed back in her seat. 

It didn’t take long for everyone to file into the control room and get settled in their seats. Regina told Emma there was no need for her to complete a report because with the extra work she had put in the night before she had practically already written one. 

Instead of writing her report, Emma decided to go and make sure all of her stuff was sorted for when they got back to base, and then she started to read her book. It was nice to be able to relax in a room by herself. She had been so focused on her work the last few days it felt like her brain had been in hyperdrive. Before she knew it she had fallen asleep. 

She was rudely awoken by Ruby purposely sitting heavily on the end of her bed. Emma woke up but then realized it was Ruby and lightly smacked her on the arm. 

“Dude, no need to be such an ass about it,” Emma said in a groggy voice. She sat up slowly and frowned at Ruby who was grinning at her. 

“Have a nice nap Sleeping Beauty,” Ruby said laughing at Emma who groaned.

“What time is it?” She asked her wondering how long her nap had been. 

“It’s half-past twelve and we need you in the control room,” Ruby said chuckling at the sleepy Emma. 

Emma nodded and got up. She tidied up her uniform and followed Ruby to the control room. She made her way past everyone and sat in her chair. She could hear Ruby talking quietly to Regina who chuckled a little. 

Emma took note of what was going on and switched the ship to manual after Ariel gave her the sign to say she was also ready. They began to bring the ship closer to the base.


	17. Regina Diary Entry 2

Regina’s diary entry two

The first flight on the Baelfire didn't go exactly to plan. Although the crew did a great job, our adventure was cut short by an unidentified ship following us. 

Emma has once again amazed me. Her dedication to her job is something I haven't seen in years. There's something special about her. I think Henry can see it too, he has become quite taken with her. Hopefully, my sister will be the same way, although I doubt it. She is snarky and sarcastic. Don't get me wrong she's a lovely person but her kindness is hidden underneath years of abandonment and the need to prove that she's better than everyone else. 

My darling mother abandoned her as a baby. I never got the chance to ask why because she passed before I even met Zelena. Sadly my sister didn't get to meet her either. Maybe it was for the best. I don't think Zelena would have dealt with it very well.

I first met Zelena when she was hired as a pilot for one of the lower-ranking ships. She had to pretty much force Rumple into giving her a job. She had recently discovered that she had a sister, me. She hated the fact that mother had kept me and I had been brought up able to access all the help I needed to get into the space program. Her adopted mother had died a few years ago and she had run away from her dead beat, horrid father. 

She had gone to seek herself and learn who she was. She had visited the hospital on her birth certificate. It wasn’t far from the SRDSP headquarters. The nurse handed her the records of her birth and that her mother had been hired by Rumple at the time and that she had a sister. This had made Zelena furious. She then spent years independently training to become a pilot in the hopes Rumple would hire her. When she was confident of her skills she had marched into Rumple's office and had ordered him to give her a job. 

After consideration and learning that Zelena was my mother’s long lost abandoned daughter he let her join. But not before he put her through rigorous tests. She managed to pass with flying colors, she got a better score than I did. And don't I know it. A few weeks later once she was settled in she located me and that started three years worth of sibling rivalry and not the healthy kind.

Slowly but surely we managed to become closer and now we are at a point where we can trust each other. She is the first person I go to when I need advice. 

So that's why I'm bringing Emma to meet her. When I dropped Henry off at her living quarters just before we made flight, my sister, being ever so annoyingly observant, noticed that I was feeling a little out of sorts. It's not every day I find myself enjoying the company of another person who I am not related to. She got Henry sorted and then came straight out with it. 

"So what's with the weird face?" She had asked me. I looked at her confused. Not quite understanding what she was getting at. 

"What's weird about my face?" 

"Well other than the usual stuff you look like, you’re, I dunno, stumped," she said with a cocky smirk. 

I was having a battle in my head as to whether to tell her what I had been thinking about. Even if I wanted to keep my thoughts to myself, after a moment, I realized she would wheedle the information out of me. I gave up and spoke up. 

"It's a bit of an awkward subject. You know my new pilot?" I said joining her on her sofa. 

"Yes, the geeky chick who is some kind of prodigy." Zelena had said with a head nod which told me this was going to go as well as I thought. My sister's feelings on Emma Swan were already apparent. 

"Well I have found myself recently having, I guess you could say, unsavory thoughts about her. It started as just a ‘hey that pilots kind of cute, oh my gosh can I kiss her yet?’" 

I have to admit my cheeks were probably a little reddened by revealing my feeling toward Miss Swan to my older sister. 

"Ohh so the witch does have a pulse, and here I was thinking we would both die alone!" She said it was a little overdramatic. I mean it has been a while since I have genuinely taken an interest in anyone but seriously has it been that long? 

I have to admit it made me think. The last person I had been romantically interested in was Robin and even then it was never a fully-fledged thing. More like he seemed cool and maybe it won't be too bad to have someone around. 

Anyway, to say I'm stumped as to what to do with my newly developed feelings for my pilot would be an understatement. Zelena suggested bringing her over so she could meet her and even though at first I thought I was the worst idea she had ever come up with, after thinking it through, I felt like maybe having Zelena meet her would help me decide how to proceed with it all. 

For now, I'm just glad we're on our way back to the base because it hasn't been more than three days and I already miss my boy. 

It is hard to be away from Henry but at least I know I can trust Zelena with him now. I mean she did raise Robin but I was a little wary at first about leaving him with her. She isn’t always the best role model for him but at least he has fun with her. 

I remember the time she bought him a whoopee cushion and for a whole month every single time I would sit down at home it would be there and Henry would burst out laughing. Most of the time he would give it away by sniggering just before I sat but I would pretend not to notice just so I could hear him chuckle. Sadly that had to be confiscated when he decided to put it down the toilet as an “experiment.” The entire bathroom got flooded and we had to stay at Zelena's whilst someone fixed the toilet and made sure there was no water damage.

Anyway back to the reason I began discussing my sister. This thing with Emma has me questioning everything. I don’t know if I should bring it up because as her superior it could seem unprofessional and the others may think I will begin to favor Miss Swan. The truth is that I know that she is mature enough to know the difference between personal and business. She might be young but I trust that she wouldn't let us affect her work. I’m just worried about a certain someone being difficult about it. 

Maleficent is getting out of hand. I thought she would understand that it wasn’t serious between us–strictly casual–and that when it came down to it no romantic feelings were involved, but lately it seems she is feeling something we are not. I wish that I had never gone there but I did, and now I guess I have to pay the consequences. I just hope Emma doesn't have too as well. If there was one thing I know for sure about Maleficent is she is spiteful and vindictive. 

I guess this is all something I need to consider and if I do decide to take the leap and talk to Emma I will have to make sure she knows that she could make an enemy out of Maleficent. 

Well, I best be getting on because we are almost at the ship and I have to make sure my crew knows what they are doing.


	18. chapter 15

Chapter fifteen

Emma and Ariel flew the ship toward the base and floated as they waited for the docking doors to open. Regina had been thinking about how it would go when Emma met Zelena. Part of her wanted it to go well because she liked Emma and knew that they could make each other happy. But she also knew her sister and knew it wasn't going to be all smooth sailing. Regina couldn't stop herself from fidgeting; it felt like her nerves were making her entire body buzz. She just needed to get out of the ship. 

Thankfully it didn't take long for the doors to open and for Emma and Ariel to safely land the ship. 

"Okay everyone, it's now safe to retrieve your things and leave. I want everyone in the meeting room tomorrow to discuss our mission." Regina commanded as she stood up then made her way to her room. She picked up the small bag of her belongings and was the first out, followed by the rest of the crew. As soon as Regina had stepped out of the ship she saw Captain George standing there with his goons. She sighed before making her way over to him.

She saluted him as she stopped in front of him. Regina didn't understand why; nowadays, it wasn’t mandatory to do so, and many accepted the handshake as an appropriate form of greeting. Everyone had to salute Captain George, because being the power-hungry man he was, demanded it. 

"Captain Mills it's good to see your crew has returned safely. Now, please follow me to my office to discuss exactly why you abandoned your mission early." He told Regina in a level tone, but she knew better. 

"Yes, Captain." She said as she followed after him, but not before looking back at Emma who had a worried look on her face. Regina tried to smile reassuringly at her but felt like it came across more scared than anything. 

Once they had reached the office, Captain George sat behind his desk and didn't bother offering a seat to Regina. Regina knew her place and just stood in front of him. 

"Now Captain, I have received a report that your ship came under attack by an unknown enemy." He said his tone conveying that he was in the mood to argue with her. Regina did her best to keep her cool. 

"Yes Sir. On our first day we had a ship actively shoot ours and then yesterday we had another similar ship following us. I thought the safest course of action would be to escape and return to base as my crew had not yet trained with the ship's weaponry. This mission was to get the feel of the ship; with more experience, I have confidence that my crew could handle a situation like this, but not now." 

The Captain hummed and nodded his head as if accepting her answer, but Regina knew better. She remained on defense. 

"So, instead of teaching your crew to fight, you decided it was best to run away and hide?" He said, his voice mocking her slightly. 

Regina resisted the reaction to roll her eyes. She hated having to deal with this misogynistic ass hole. Ever since Rumple had made him of a higher rank than herself, he held it over her. 

"No, sir, I followed protocol. " Regina simply replied. 

He smiled sinisterly at her. "Next time, Mills, shoot the bastard down. Fuck protocol. If you have an enemy up your ass you shoot them!" He said, leaning forward in his chair. 

"Duly noted, sir," Regina said. She didn't regret her decision to getaway. How she was to Captain her crew was her choice; she wouldn’t let some washed-out old man tell her how to do her job. Especially if it meant putting her crew in danger. 

"You may leave Mills but I want your crew's report on my desk tomorrow morning." He then turned to look at the screen behind him. 

Regina walked out of his office with a sigh. She made her way to the cafeteria where she knew Emma would be. The woman seemed to enjoy her food, maybe she would make her dinner sometime. 

She could hear her crew before she walked into the room. Most of them were sitting around a table eating and chatting. Cruella, Ursula, Maleficent, and Pan were sitting on a different table but to her surprise Hook had sat with the others. Maybe she was too quick to judge him. Perhaps just maybe he wasn't so bad after all. 

She walked over to them just as Emma looked up at her with a smile. She shuffled over so Regina could sit with them. This surprised Regina because she still wasn't used to her crew being so welcoming towards her. She took the seat next to the blond whose cheeks went a little red. Regina chuckled at her. 

"So Captain, what was the verdict?" August asked her, knowing what Captain George was like. 

Regina just shook her head. "I truly don't know how that man became my superior. He doesn't know the last thing about what it's like to be a Captain in battle. He told me I should have gone against protocol and shot the ship down." Regina shared with them. She was annoyed by her meeting but glad she had people to talk to. 

She stayed and chatted with them all for a bit longer, enjoying their company. She learned a lot about her crew and she reflected on how that might help when they next go out on a mission. She even bonded with her niece more–Robin and she didn't speak much, so Regina was surprised when Robin had been put on her crew. Robin asked Regina to not mention the fact that they were related because she wanted to be equal to the rest of her crew. Regina understood. The only person who knew the truth was Alice because that was her girlfriend and she trusted her to keep that secret.

Today, however, Emma was about to find out too. Regina was confident she would continue the discretion; she presumed Emma could understand, and even relate. She knew what it was to be treated differently because of who you were raised by. 

When it was just Regina, Emma, Robin and Alice left at their table, Regina turned to Emma, "So, Emma, I was wondering if you were still up for meeting with my sister?" 

"Yeah of course I am Regina," Emma said with a genuine smile. 

"There is something else you should know first. Zelena is also Robin's mother." Regina told her. 

"Awesome! So your Aunty Regina then. I always thought you and Robin look a little alike. I mean it's barely noticeable but I'm good at… looking at things?" Emma said awkwardly, not wanting to come across creepy. Regina was expecting a bigger reaction and chuckled at Emma's instant approval. 

"Well, Robin and Alice are going to come to dinner with us," Regina said to Robin, whose eyes suddenly looked at Regina. 

"Are we? First I'm hearing of it!" Robin said to her, sounding a little annoyed. 

Alice stroked her arm lovingly. "Come on, it will be fine. I know you miss her even if you won't admit it." Alice said to her with a grin. 

Robin sighed. "Alright, we will come. But I’m not showing my baby picture to Alice again." Robin said which made Regina and Alice chuckle. 

"Aweee but they are so cute." Alice teased her playfully. 

"I said no," Robin said to her, bopping her on the nose with her finger. 

"We should get going or your mother will spend the first half an hour moaning about the fact that we didn't come sooner," Regina said, smiling at her Robin and Alice. 

They got up and cleared away their table before all heading over to Zelena's place. 

Regina knocked on the door and it quickly flew open. 

"Where the hell have you been? I thought you guys got back an hour ago." Zelena exclaimed standing out of the way they could come into her place. 

"Sorry, we got caught up in the canteen chatting with the crew," Robin told her as she walked in and flopped down on the sofa next to Henry who was doodling in a sketchbook. He looked up at his mom and Emma and ran over to them. 

"Mommy, Emma! Look what I drew," he said excitedly as he shoved his sketchbook into Emma's hands. It was a picture of a space shuttle with three tiny stick figures standing at the circle window. "It’s the tree of us on a spaceship. Aunty Zelena said it was a masterpiece," he said, almost bouncing up and down. He struggled with the word masterpiece a little but continued to bounce excitedly. 

"Yep, Regina, it looks like you have a mini DaVinci," Zelena said coming over and ruffling Henry's already messy hair. 

"Ah, Kid this is awesome," Emma said, smiling at Henry who bounced even higher from her compliment. 

"Well done Henry! We will hang it up on our fridge at home," Regina said as she hugged him. 

"No, I drew it for Emma so she remembers she's one of us," Henry said with a chuckle. 

Regina insides swooned at her son. She was amazed at how kind and considerate he was. She was sure he got that from his father. 

"Awe thanks, Pilot. I shall treasure it always" Emma told him, picking him up to give him squish. 

"I just thought you might need to remember that we are your family too now because mommy told me you don't have a mommy or a daddy." He told her with a small shy smile. "So I thought you could come join our family." 

Emma didn't show it but Henry almost brought a tear to her eye. Emma looked at Regina who looked like she was almost tearing up too. 

"Okay well, I think we should all sit down and start the evening together," Zelena said, indicating a small love couch to Emma and Regina. Emma, still carrying Henry, went to sit on her seat and Henry stayed seated on her lap. Regina gave Zelena a look before joining them. 

"So I thought what's a thing normal families do at these kinds of things. So I've brought out the Clue. Which we all know is Henry's favorite game." Zelena said, bringing the game box and placing it on the table. She emptied the box's contents and prepared the game. 

"Okay everyone it's time we picked our characters, as we know, the youngest picks first. So Henry you're up!" 

Henry immediately grabbed the blue counter. "I'm going to be Mrs.Peacock," Henry said, placing it on his space on the board. 

"Okay, next to pick is Emma," Zelena said to the blond who looked a little out of sorts.

"Is this a bad time to admit that I haven't played this before," Emma said slightly embarrassed. She never really played board games. Ruby, August, and herself usually played cards when she was a kid. 

"That's okay, Emma, we will explain in a second. Mom has a flair for the dramatic so you'll get the whole story." Robin told her. Emma looked at Zelena who just grinned at her. 

"Okay, then I will pick this yellow one?" Emma said, hoping she didn't take a counter someone else wanted. 

"Ohh you picked Colonial Mustard," Henry said his eyes wide with excitement at getting to play his favorite game with his family and new best friend. 

"Is that good?” Emma asked him. 

Henry exaggeratedly shrugged. "You'll just have to find out!”

Regina was enjoying watching her son and Emma interact. It was so nice to see him take a step out of his comfort zone. 

"Okay next is you, Regina," Zelena told her which disturbed her from looking at her son and Emma. She hadn't realized how obvious she was being until Zelena looked at her and winked. Regina rolled her eyes and picked up the purple counter. 

"Professor Plum. Cause purple is one of Mommy's favorite colors." Henry said with a smile. 

"That and she likes playing the bossy pants," Zelena said which made Henry giggle. 

"Alright, me next. I'm gonna play Mr. Green. Your next sweetheart." Zelena said to Robin who looked like she was starting to have fun. 

"I'm gonna play Mrs. Scarlett. Because I'm all about sophistication," Robin said in a mocking voice that made Alice giggle. 

"I guess that leaves me with Mrs. White," Alice said with a smile as she placed her counter on the board with everyone else's.

"Now I will explain the game. So in the envelope in the middle of the board, I have placed three cards. One room, the murder weapon, and the murder" Zelena said in a dramatic voice. "Now each of us has to move around the board going into rooms and ticking off each one until someone works out who’s done it." 

"Aunty Zelena, do the story too! " Henry said, clearly enjoying himself. Emma chuckled at his enthusiasm and found herself feeling less nervous. 

"I'm getting their young one, to calm your wings. Okay...our story begins with Mr. Noddy. He was the owner of this lovely mansion we now stand-in. Mr. Boddy had invited his friends round for a dinner party. Not only did he enjoy their company but, because he also had blackmail on all of them, he made them come or he would reveal their secrets to everyone. So that night whilst they were finishing up their dessert and everyone was looking around the beautiful mansion, suddenly the lights went out. Luckily it wasn't long before they came back on, but once they did, it revealed the dead body of Mr. Boddy. Who killed him? And where and how?" Zelena loved telling the backstory of the game. She paused dramatically before announcing, "Okay, the first player to move is Miss Scarlett. So first up is you, Robin."

As they played, each person accusing someone of killing Mr. Boddy, Emma found herself having fun and getting to know Regina's family. She also learned that Regina and her sister shared a very dark sense of humor. She could tell they were close siblings and Regina was so relaxed. She didn't think the brunette knew how to relax. This Regina was pretty awesome. 

"I accuse Mr. Green of killing Mr. Boddy in the study with a knife," Regina said in a dark voice. Emma appreciated her getting into character. 

Zelena recoiled in mock anger that her character had been accused. Everyone looked at their cards. 

Alice slammed her fist on the sofa. "I object, I happen to know that the study is free of evidence," she declared in an over-the-top authoritative voice. Regina crossed the room off the sheet. 

Next was Henry's turn who had something up his sleeve. He chuckled darkly before shuffling on his place on the floor. 

"I say that Colonel Mustard is our culprit. He lured Mr. Boddy into the library, cut off the lights, and choked him with a rope." Henry said, knowing that he now had to check the cards to see if she was right. He slowly took the envelope from the middle and peeked inside. His feature lit up and looked at Emma. “Colonel Mustard, you are under arrest for murder!!!" He said then jumped on Emma. 

"Ah, damn, and I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling child," Emma said laughing then started tickling Henry who started giggling uncontrollably. 

"Anyone up for food?" Zelena asked them all standing up and stretching her limbs out. 

"I could eat," Robin said to her with a smile. Everyone nodded in agreement and Zelena went into the kitchen. Regina decided to follow her. 

Zelena opened up the fridge and started pulling out snacks for them all. Regina stood there awkwardly for a few moments. Zelena stopped and looked at her. She knew what her sister wanted to know and sighed in defeat. 

"I like her. I mean she's a huge geek and maybe a little young but she seems mature and loves your son, and you, might I add. I say you should give it a go," Zelena said and continued taking things out and plating them up. 

"Really? I'm glad you like her. I think I will go for it. I just need to work out how to go about it. I don't want to be too forward," Regina said, a little flustered. 

"Gina, you need to be forward. That girl is so shy that she will never get your clues. She needs to know you like her and that you want to date her." She had only just met the woman but she could see that Emma was the bashful type and her sister was painfully subtle. 

"Are you sure? "Regina asked if she was nervous about making her move on Emma. She didn't have much experience in the dating department and had never been the instigator. 

"Bloody hell woman just kiss the girl!" Zelena said before picking up a tray full of food. "Grab the drinks."

Regina did as she said and picked up the second tray and followed Zelena back into the living room. They placed the trays on the now clean table and sat back down. 

"Help yourself. Except you, Henry; go easy on the sweets or your mother will kill me if I send you home all hyped up again," Zelena tweaking his nose. 

They all hung out and chatted for a few more hours before it was time for Regina to get Henry to bed. 

"Alright Henry it's time to go to bed, you have school in the morning." Regina was looking forward to retiring back to her living quarters. 

"Okay, Mommy. Could Emma come read me a story again? She's good at it; she does funny voices for all the characters." Henry said using his puppy dog look to seal the deal. 

"Of course sweetheart as long as Emma is okay with that too," Regina said, chuckling at her son. 

"Yeah of course. Anything for my pilot." Emma said just as Henry bounced into her lap. She let out an “OOF” as he did so. "Jeez kid how much have you eaten."

Henry chuckled as Emma lifted him. She then let him crawl onto her back for a piggyback ride. 

"Come on then, you too," Regina said, secretly loving how much they had bonded together. "See you soon Zelena. And I'll see you two at our meeting tomorrow–don't be late!" She said more so for Robin's sake than Alice's. 

"Why did you look at me when you said that?" Robin said, feeling a little personally attacked. 

Regina just gave her a look. "You know why Miss Five-more-minutes." 

"I will try my best to get Sleepyhead up in time," Alice said putting her arm around Robin and squeezing her. 

"Night-night Aunty Zelena, Robin, and Alice," Henry said letting a small yawn out after.

"Night all!" Emma waved, following Regina with Henry on her back. 

They walked slowly back to Regina's place. No one spoke much. Henry was too tired and Regina was so nervous to say much. Too scared she would say too much. Emma was just reveling in the feeling of having a small family-type thing. She wasn't sure what to call it but being together like this made her feel like she had a family. 

"Thank you for inviting me tonight Regina, it was fun. Your sister doesn't seem as bad as you described her," Emma said quietly because Henry had practically fallen asleep on her. 

"Oh trust me, she was behaving herself tonight. Just you wait, once she knows you more she will become a nightmare," Regina warned her lightly. 

At Regina's living quarters she opened the door for Emma carrying Henry's dead weight; he was fully asleep. 

"I'll just go put him to bed. I don't think he will be needing a story tonight." Emma said walking into his room. She woke him up so he could get dressed which she had to help with because he was so sleepy he had tried to put his pajama bottoms on instead of his T-shirt. Once he was dressed he flopped back on his bed and Emma pulled the covers over him. 

"Night night Emma," he said half asleep. 

"Night kid, sweet dreams," Emma said and kissed his forehead lightly. Regina who had been watching them came over and tucked him in and kissed his forehead too. 

"Night sweetheart." She said to Henry who was already falling back to sleep. 

"Night Mommy." He said before sighing lightly before closing his eyes and drifting back off. 

Emma followed Regina into her living room. Regina was feeling a little more nervous now. She hadn't felt this way before about anyone; it was a mix of excitement and pure fear. 

"Would you like a hot choco?" She asked Emma who smiled at the brunette. 

"Please, with cinnamon, please, if you have any?" Emma asked, actually starting to feel a little more confident around Regina. 

"If I didn't have cinnamon, Henry would not be happy." Regina chuckled lightly before turning on the kettle. She placed two cups on the side and started preparing them.


	19. chapter 16

Chapter sixteen

Once the chocolate was made, Regina and Emma sat on the couch. Regina put her TV on so there was something to cover the awkward silence. Regina couldn't even pay attention to what they were watching because she was so aware that Emma was sitting next to her. Now and again she would look over at the blonde and found herself wanting to put her arm around her. She fought these urges hard to the point of it turning into a battle in her head. 

Emma noticed Regina kept looking at her for thirty minutes, like she wanted to tell her something. When Emma couldn’t take it anymore, she turned towards Regina to face her. Regina could see the confusion and bemusement in the blonde's eyes. 

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Emma asked, chuckling slightly because she found it funny that Regina was acting so strangely. 

Regina looked at her, willing her eyes to say something her mouth couldn’t. 

Emma saw something in Regina's eyes, but her mind tumbled through ideas as to why she would be looking at her like that. "Regina?" Emma said, trying to coax the woman into talking. 

"I, um…I brought you to my sisters under false pretenses," Regina said more quietly than normal. Emma just looked at her confused. 

"Ok...so what was the real reason you wanted me to meet her?" 

"Well um, this is a little awkward," Regina said shuffling in her seat. She turned from Emma's eyes down to her hands. "I, um…brought you over to meet her because I…I like you and I wanted her to help me" 

"Help you to…like me?" Emma said, even more confused. This small revelation made her heart start to flutter in her chest. 

Regina quickly looked up at her and then back down at her hands. She shook her head. "Not exactly. I needed her to tell me if I was being stupid in thinking I had a chance with you," she said, not looking up at Emma. 

The blonde suddenly realized what Regina was telling her. Emma's heart started beating even faster, adrenaline pumped through her body. She lifted her hand to Regina's chin and lifted the brunette's head so she could look her in the eyes. 

"What did she say to you?" Emma asked softly as Regina's eyes looked into hers.

"She said that I should make my move," Regina told her quietly as she watched Emma’s lips form a giant grin, and before Regina could tell what was happening Emma's lips were on hers. It took a few moments for Regina to realize what happened but she soon started to kiss the blonde back. She unconsciously put her arms around the blonde's shoulders and pulled her into herself tightly.

Emma responded by putting her arms around Regina's waist and closed the rest of the distance between them. The kiss ended naturally when both women ran out of air. They just looked deep into each other's eyes. Emma smiled at Regina who looked a little lost. 

"Wow," was all Regina could say. 

Emma nodded just as Regina pulled her into her again and kissed her more passionately than before. They both smiled into the kiss before pulling away slightly so their noses touched. 

"I've been wanting you to do that for a long time," Emma said breathlessly. 

Regina smiled at her and kissed her lightly. "Well, why didn't you say something?" Regina asked her wondering why Emma hadn't said something sooner. 

"Well, I'm not exactly very experienced in this kind of thing...you’re kind of my first kiss. I know that makes me a little sad but…" Emma confessed but Regina stopped her before she could finish her sentence.

"No Emma, It tells me that you trust me and that you think I'm worth being your first kiss," Regina said stoking Emma's face lightly with admiration. 

"Really because I always thought I was kind of lame. I just…I wanted it to be special." Emma said, a little embarrassed. Regina shook her head lightly and chuckled. 

"Emma Swan you are so much more than you think," Regina said and she pulled Emma into a tight hug. Emma took a deep breath and hugged her back. She laid her cheek on the brunette's shoulder. 

"I'm so glad that you like me too. It was getting harder to hide my feelings for you," Emma told her. Regina smiled to herself. How did this sweet, caring woman fall for her? She couldn't explain how happy it made her that Emma wanted to be with her too. 

They stayed hugging each other a little longer. At some point they let each other go a little and ended up cuddling up in front of the TV. It was some cartoon about a young woman with powers she harnessed from a sword, who helps a whole kingdom fight against an evil organization that was trying to take over the planet.

"I think she's going to end up with the girl she used to be friends with," Emma said to Regina. 

Regina chuckled and nodded. "If that isn't the case what is the point?" She had watched the series before and didn't want to ruin the ending for Emma. 

Before they both knew it, they had fallen asleep on the couch. They woke up a few hours later and the TV had turned off, and somehow they were now both lying on the couch Regina had her arms around Emma who was snuggled in front of her. 

"Hey wanna sleep here tonight?" Regina asked her quietly. Emma sleepy turned over to face Regina which wasn't easy on the couch but she managed it. She snuggled into Regina's chest, too tired and comfortable to say anything, but hoping her actions would tell Regina she wanted too. 

"I'm taking that as a ‘yes.’ Come on, my bed is a lot more comfortable than the couch," Regina told her, lifting Emma slightly off her as she shuffled out of the blonde's grip. Emma groaned a little. Regina chuckled at the adorable noise. 

"Come on my Pilot," Regina said, helping Emma off the couch and walking them to her bedroom. Emma immediately collapsed on the bed. Regina took off the blonde's shoes and kicked off her own then lay down next to Emma who nuzzled back into her. The blonde let out a contented sigh and Regina pulled her in tighter. She closed her eyes and drifted off with a smile on her face. 

She woke up the next morning and Emma was no longer lying next to her. She panicked, a little worried that Emma got spooked and ran away from her. Her brain started bursting with ideas as to why the blonde had run. But she heard a loud bang come from the kitchen. She grabbed her dressing gown and went to see what the noise was. She quickly walked out of her bedroom and she heard Henry talking to someone. 

"So how come you are here so early?" 

"Well I never left. I fell asleep last night and your Mommy let me sleepover." 

Regina sighed in relief hearing Emma and walked into the kitchen. She was standing at the stove. Henry sat at the table buttering toast. 

"Morning Mommy! Emma and I are making breakfast. See, Emma let me butter the toast!” He bounced off his seat and jumped at Regina who caught him. 

"Well, I must say it looks amazing. Morning Emma, I'm glad to see you're still here." 

"Why would I want to leave when I need to say thank you for letting me sleepover?" Emma said to her with a smile. She took the pan off the stove and slipped a couple eggs and bacon onto three dishes. "Henry told me how you like your eggs. I hope they are up to standard."

Regina took a seat in front of the one Emma signaled was hers. She smiled because it was clear Emma had listened to her son–her egg looked runny on top, but with the bottom cooked a little firmer.

"They are perfect, thank you." She wanted to kiss the blonde but instead placed her hand over hers slightly and squeezed it. Emma sat down next to her. Henry was already sitting and was eating his breakfast happily on her other side. 

Regina couldn't explain how she felt sitting between them but she wanted it to be a constant. She smiled at Emma who smiled brightly back at her. 

"Emma your eggs are almost as good as Mommy's," Henry said as he finished them and moved on to his toast. Emma took a sip of her coffee. 

"Well, commingling from you kid that means a lot!" Emma chuckled, Regina, laughed at her son who now had egg smeared all over his face.

"They were so good that you are wearing them like face paint," Regina said, taking a napkin and wiping his face. She went back to munching on her food. "I do have to say though these eggs are superb." 

"Thank you, it's about one of the only things I can cook. Ruby and August don't let me loose in the kitchen because one time I tried to cook them dinner and most of it ended up in the toilet." Emma said laughing at the memory. 

"Don't worry Mommy can teach you to cook. She's good at it, especially her lasagna." Henry said practically drooling at the thought of it. 

After breakfast Emma helped Regina wash up whilst Henry got dressed for school. They were glad to have a little time to be together that morning because they knew for the rest of the day they would have to act like nothing was going on between them so the others didn't twig onto them. They weren't quite ready for people to butt their noses in just yet. 

"So I thought, would you like to come over again tonight? I can cook if you like?" Regina still felt a little nervous in case Emma changed her mind. 

"I'd love to. Especially if you cook your amazing lasagna Henry was raving about." Emma said to her with a smile. 

"Of course anything for you, Miss Swan," Regina said flirtatiously. Emma's cheeks went a little red which made Regina smile even more. She was glad she affected the woman as much as she affected her. She kissed the blonde's cheek before handing her the last plate to dry. 

"Emma! Emma! Will you come with Mommy and me to take me to school?" Henry asked, running excitedly as if he had just had the best idea ever. 

"Of course kiddo. I'd gladly come drop you off to school." Emma said to him, picking him up and flying him about a little. Henry shouted; he loved being so high in the air. 

"We better get going then otherwise you will be late," Regina said.

Henry ran to get his backpack as Emma and Regina walked into the living room. 

They left the living quarters and made their way to the schooling area of the ship. Emma was surprised to see just how many kids were being raised on the ship. 

"Wow, I didn't think this many people had kids here. They never told us about this when we were in training." Emma was glad to see that there was a little chance at normality. Henry hugged them goodbye and ran into class. 

"He loves school. He doesn't have many friends but he loves to learn." Regina said proudly at Henry’s clear ambitious streak.

"He is a special kid just like his Momma," Emma said, thinking she subtlety complemented the brunette. 

Regina took Emma's comment as flirtation and liked it. "I have to go get ready for this meeting and try to seek in without anyone seeing me." Emma realized. 

"Okay beautiful I shall see you tonight," Regina said, squeezing the blonde's hand before walking back home. Emma was left standing in the hallway a little flustered from Regina calling her beautiful. If she didn't know any better she would say she was dreaming. 

She walked to her dorm in a daze, but snapped out of it, getting ready to answer questions of where she had been. But when she entered the room, thankfully everyone was still sleeping. She let out a relieved sigh. She grabbed a clean jumpsuit and underwear then went to shower. 

Once she got out of the shower and dressed, she went back to her room and Ariel, Alice, and Robin were up. Ariel gave her a small knowing smile and stare. Robin and Alice seemed to smile too. She suspected Zelena said something to her daughter and in turn, they told Ariel.

"So we noticed you didn't come back last night?" Ariel said to her with a smirk. Emma rolled her eyes and sat on her bunk. "How did it go with Regina?" 

"It went pretty well. I read Henry a story and we watched some TV. I was beat, so I accidentally fell asleep on her sofa." Emma said, hoping it was plausible enough to get them off her back for a little while. 

"Oh okay, it's just my Mom told me something interesting about Regina last night," Robin said to her. Emma looked at her hard. 

"If you value my friendship you'll stop asking me questions about it. Nothing happened,” Emma said to all of them she didn't want to come off rude but she hated when people poked around in her business. 

"Okay, Okay we will back off but I just want to say something. If she hurts you she will pay dearly." Ariel said, trying to seem threatening. 

Emma chuckled at her. "Seriously nothing happened. Now come on get ready we have a meeting to get to.” Emma told them before plugging in her hairdryer and switching it on so they couldn't talk to her anymore. 

Once they were all ready they made their way to the meeting room. They got there a little earlier than the rest of the crew but they weren't surprised to see Regina seated there with a pile of paperwork. She raised her head as they walked through the door. She smiled at them and made eye contact with Emma and smirked. They sat down at their places at the table. Emma made sure not to sit next to Regina. They chatted amongst themselves until the rest of the crew went there. 

They slowly trickled in and took a seat at the table. Regina handed out copies of their reports and waited for the person interviewing to arrive. Not long after a man with pale white hair wearing a gray suit walked into the room carrying a briefcase. 

"Good morning everyone my name is Doctor Whale and I will be the person assessing your recent trip in the Baelfire." He walked to his seat at the head of the table, put down his briefcase, and sat. "So I think you all know I'm here to discuss what happened that made you all abort your mission." 

"Doctor Whale, if I may speak first? it was in my crew's best interest that we aborted that mission. Not only have they not had the proper training with our ships weaponry, but the ship following us was also of an unknown class, therefore it is the protocol that we did not attack."

"I understand, Captain. It is vital that your crew is also an asset so we can make sure the story is constant," he said before looking at Emma. "Pilot, I would like to hear your versions of events.”

Emma suddenly felt her palms go sweaty. She was worried she would say something wrong and get Regina in trouble. 

"We were heading towards our destination the first night and we had a ship tail us. With the Captain's help, we managed to maneuver it and got away safely. However, two days later another ship was seen hovering behind us. It was not close enough to hit us but it was close enough that it could intercept our communications. Therefore we saw it as a threat, and once again the Captain informed me of what to do and we escaped. We saw fit to return because we felt it was the most sensible decision at the time." Emma hoped that what she said was okay. Of course, they had been taught what happens when things like this occurred but Emma never thought she would have to do it. The Doctor smiled at her and moved on to look at Ariel. 

Everyone told similar stories and Regina seemed to be remaining calm which told Emma that they were doing okay. 

The last person to talk was Maleficent. Regina knew the moment the witch opened her mouth she was going to do her best to throw the blame on Regina. 

"So Maleficent, what are your accounts of the event?" Doctor Whale asked her. Maleficent looked dead into Regina's eyes.

"It would be a lie to tell you Regina wasn't to blame for having to abandon our mission. Miss Swan was in a prime position to fight but our Captain told her not too. I found this to be degrading for Miss Swan who was punished after for even suggesting using our weapons."

"I see. And Miss Swan what do you feel about what you Captain did? " Doctor Whale asked her. 

Emma looked at Regina then back at Whale. "I believe the punishment was necessary. I questioned her decision and for that, I was punished. At the time I was frustrated but I soon realized I was at fault. After thinking through what happened I knew that going against that ship would have ended in our entire crew going down."

"Thank you, Miss Swan. Now considering everything you have told me, I believe, Captain Mills, that the action you took was suitable for the situation. I do however need to take your crew off schedule until they have learned to use their weapons. In light of recent events, it would appear to be a priority and necessity." With that, he packed his notes into his briefcase and stood up. “Thank you for your cooperation. There will be forms sent to you Captain soon that your crew may begin weapons training earlier than planned."


	20. chapter 17

Chapter seventeen  
After the meeting, Emma noticed Regina looked a little put out. She wanted to talk to her and thought she would get a moment to be alone with her as the crew had gone off to breakfast, but Regina left quickly back to her room. Emma thought it was best to give Regina a moment, so she too went to her dorm and decided to change into casual clothes. Memories from the night before elated her; she could hardly believe it happened. This would be her first relationship. She didn’t know what to do or what to expect; it wasn’t something she could learn by studying. She didn’t want these thoughts to cause her anxiety, so she quickly pulled on her jeans, a tank top, and her red leather jacket and made her way over to Regina's place. She knocked on the door and waited, shuffling foot to foot. 

Regina opened the door dressed in jeans and a red blazer. Emma took in the gorgeous woman, she couldn't believe how lucky she was that Regina kissed her. She smiled at Regina and didn’t say a word. Regina returned the smile and wordlessly she stood to the side so Emma could enter. 

"Those jeans look nice on you," Regina said as Emma walked past her. 

Emma’s smile broadened, and she looked over her shoulder at Regina. "I can say the same. I never evnvisioned you in jeans, but they definitely suit you," Emma tried to say flirtatiously, but when she heard herself, she thought she sounded stupid. She looked for Regina’s reaction, but it appeared she appreciated the compliment. 

Regina closed the door and sauntered towards the blonde. The confidence in her walk and the alluring look on Regina’s face as she gazed at Emma gave her the reaction that wouldn't let her catch her breath. Regina stood in front of Emma and their eyes locked. Regina smirked at her before putting a hand through the blondes golden locks. 

"I never thought someone as pure-hearted as you would want to be with me," Regina said to her, she put her free hand on Emma's hip and pulled her closer, gently. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's middle and closed the distance between them. It felt like her whole body had come alive at Regina's touch. Emma struggled to keep her breathing even. To her surprise, it looked like Regina was too. Regina placed her lips on Emma's who immediately reciprocated the kiss. Regina pulled away slowly.

"I've been waiting to do that since you walked into the meeting room in your jumpsuit. I never thought they could be sexy but, umm, you have changed my mind. So I was thinking, considering we have the rest of the day off, if you fancied spending it with me?" 

Emma looked at Regina and smiled at her. She wasn’t sure if her brain was still functioning, because everything about Regina at this moment was overwhelming her senses. She finally found words, "I was hoping you would ask." 

"Then how about we watch a movie and get to know each other better? I still have five hours before Henry needs to pick up." Regina led Emma by the hand to the couch. 

"That sounds perfect," Emma said, feeling so happy she was getting to spend the day with Regina. If someone would have asked her a few months ago where she would be right now she would have replied with something along the lines of "sitting somewhere secluded with a book." She would have never thought she would have a huge group of friends, let alone have a chance at dating an amazing woman who happened to be her Captain. 

They both sat on the sofa and Regina found the remote for Henry's gaming console. She quickly turned it on and they flicked through the movies. Regina put her arm over Emma's shoulders and Emma cuddled into her. 

"So what do you fancy watching? I heard this one is good… that is according to my son and the rating. I only ever watch movies unless it’s with Henry. And even then, it’s usually an animated movie, or something with a superhero in it," Regina told her chuckling.

"I’ve heard it is pretty good, but I hear the one next to it is even better, "Emma said, reaching over Regina and flicking the stick on the console so that it landed on the “better” movie. 

Regina quietly read the description of the movie. She then said, "I'm not sure Emma...it seems a little scary. I'm not one for horror films." Sure she had faced certain death a few times but it didn't make her any less scared of horror movies. She had tried to watch a few with Zelena who loved them but always found herself freaking out at the smallest thing.

"I’ll protect you from the fictional monsters, don't you worry," Emma said teasingly. Regina raised her eyebrow at her. "If you find you don't like it after a little while, we can watch something else.”

"Okay, but if I get nightmares tonight I'm blaming you." Regina made the selection.

Regina had to admit the beginning of the movie wasn't too bad, but she was on edge waiting for the worse, and she was right. As soon as the evil character showed up things turned gory and scary. Within the first five minutes of the first death scene, Regina was clinging to Emma. Emma thought it was adorable that Regina was so frightened by the movie. 

"Would you like me to switch movies?" Emma asked just in case Regina forgot their little deal and had her to turn it off. But Regina shook her hidden head and peeped out back at the screen. 

The movie only got worse from there. Barely halfway through the movie and Regina was practically sitting in Emma's lap. Emma didn’t mind in the slightest. Every tiny jump scare would get Regina, and every time Emma would ask if she wanted to keep watching, and Regina would always nood “yes.” By the time the movie was reaching its climax, Regina was sitting on Emma who had her arms around the brunette. Regina was clinging to the front of Emma's shirt as she watched the scene in front of her unravel. 

"Don't go in there you fool" Regina yelled at the screen making Emma laugh at how into the movie Regina had gotten. Just as the character walked into the room Regina hid her face in Emma's shoulder. Emma stroked her back trying to comfort her but also couldn't take her eyes off the screen. Regina decided to look back at the screen at the exact moment the monster reared its head to deliver the final blow of the movie. Regina screamed so loud she made Emma jump and hid once again. The credits began to role and Emma chuckled at Regina's reaction to the last scene. 

"That was actually not a bad movie," Emma said. Regina still hadn't moved. Emma held the brunette in her lap. "You know if I told anyone about this they would never believe me." Emma was very surprised at how scared Regina had been by the film. 

"If you tell anyone about this I will hunt you down and destroy you" Regina mumbled into Emma's top. Emma chuckled and gently pushed the brunette away from her to look at her brown eyes. 

"Are you okay?" Emma asked her, stroking her hair gently. Regina nodded and straightened herself up. She tried to move off Emma's lap but the blonde held onto her tight. "I'm not done cuddling you yet. You know I never thought I would say this about you, but you're adorable." 

"I'm not adorable. I am a Captain, by definition, I am not adorable." Regina said, trying to regain her dignity. Regina pouted at Emma who just chuckled. 

“Well, I think you being scared by a movie was pretty damn adorable. But what do I know?” Emma said before poking Regina lightly. Regina just sighed dramatically before kissing Emma lightly. 

As it got later on in the day Emma and Regina began to bond. Emma had even helped Regina cook dinner if helping meant putting on music and danced around the kitchen now and again doing something that Regina trusted her to do. When it was time to pick Henry up they went together. They were oblivious and in their own world so much that they didn’t notice they walked past Ursula and Cruella. However, Ursula and Cruella noticed them. 

Henry was waiting inside his classroom expecting only his Mom to pick him up. So as soon as he saw Emma his eyes lit up and he raced towards them. 

“Hey Mommy! Hey Emma! You'll never guess what I learned about at school today!” He said almost falling over in his hurry to reach them. Emma had to catch him before he face-planted the floor.

“I dunno but it must be super exciting because you seem very happy about it,” Emma said as she righted the young boy so he was stable on his feet. He just started bouncing on the spot and nodded enthusiastically.

“Yep I learned about evaluation,” He said as if it was the greatest thing ever, and mispronounced the word “evaluation” also. He grinned up at them. The two women smiled down at the bouncing boy. “Did you know we were monkeys at one point, I bet I was a really good climber too?” Neither of the women wanted to spoil his fun by telling him that monkeys, in general, were very good climbers. “My homework is to draw a diagram of the stages of evaluation and my teacher even said I could use my special pens to color it.”

“That's awesome kiddo. Bet yours is gonna be the best in the class.” Emma said as she ruffled his hair. Regina smiled at her son and Emma. 

Once the three of them got back to Regina’s living quarters Henry quickly got dressed out of his uniform and into plain clothes. Regina approved, because Henry inevitably spilled his lasagna on them, and she didn’t mind if they got stained.

They all sat down at the dinner table with their full plates of lasagna and dug in. Emma couldn't help the sound she made at the first bite. She covered her mouth a little embarrassed. Regina smirked at her.

“This is one of the best things I have ever eaten,” Emma said to her before taking another bite. 

Henry also seemed to be enjoying his as he was wearing most of it on his face. He nodded in agreement with Emma. 

“Thank you, Miss Swan. It took years to get my recipe perfected,” Regina said as she dainty ate her own. 

After dinner, Henry ran off to do his homework. Emma and Regina washed up the plates.

“You know I’ve never seen a kid so excited to do homework,” Emma stated as she dried up a plate that Regina handed her. 

“Henry loves school. He doesn't have many friends but I don't think it bothers him all too much. I do worry it is my fault kids in his class don't want to be his friend, however. They all know me as the scary Captain. Most of their parents have had to work with me before and, well, you know how I can come across in a professional environment.” 

“Well, I’m sure he will find a friend soon. Kids are just a little mean sometimes. Don’t even get me started on parents.” Emma chuckled before putting away a plate. “It was the same as when I was a kid. No one wanted to be friends with the goddaughter of the head of the company. I don't blame them though, because Rumple was and still is an asshole.”

"Am I an asshole?" Regina asked seriously. The curse coming out of Regina's mouth took Emma by surprise. 

"Oh yeah! The biggest," Emma said in a mock-serious tone which Regina took for real until she saw the smirk on Emma's face. Then she hit her lightly on the arm. "No seriously you are the coolest Captain. There's a difference between doing your job and just being mean. I like you think you know the difference. It’s other’s who can’t tell the difference."

Regina chuckled at Emma, she trusted the woman's opinion of her because Emma wasn't the kind of person to cover up the truth. 

"How about we put Henry to bed and have a glass of wine? " Regina asked, feeling like a drink would be appropriate.

"Sounds good, but I must warn you...my knowledge of wine is pretty much nonexistent." 

"Looks like I have something else I can teach you" Regina smiled at her. "Come one let's go put the little monkey to bed."

They walked into Henry's room and saw him sitting on the floor with his homework. Emma had to say she was impressed by how much he had gotten done. 

"Hey sweety, it's time for bed. Who do you want to read to you tonight?" Regina asked him. He looked up at them and smiled. 

"I want you to read to me Mommy, but can you stay as well Emma?" He asked as he put his things away without being told to. 

"Of course. Why don't you pick a book and we will all snuggle on your bed." 

He finished putting away his things and grabbed a book from his collection. He decided on Red Riding Hood. He snuggled in between Emma and Regina on the bed and Regina began to read to him. 

Emma loved seeing Regina read to her son. It was a part of Regina that she was certain nobody else knew, or ever saw, and Emma felt special to be witness to it, and also included. 

Once the book was over Emma and Regina got up and left the sleepy boy to his dreams. They made their way back into the front room. 

"I'll grab the wine and glasses, you go get comfortable," Regina told Emma who plonked down onto the sofa. Emma felt like her entire body was tingling. She couldn't help but smile when she was around Regina. She couldn't even remember the last time she felt this happy.

Regina came back holding two wine glasses and a bottle of red. She placed the glasses on the table and popped open the bottle. She poured a little into each glass. 

"This is a merlot, go steady, it's stronger than you think," Regina told Emma who grinned and picked up her glass. Regina did the same.

"To the Baelfire," Emma toasted. Regina smiled at her and shook her head. 

"To finding each other," Regina said Emma grinned at her and clinked her glass with the brunettes. 

"Cheers!" Emma said before they both took a sip. Emma not having tried red wine before was taken back by how nice it tasted. "This stuff is so good I can't believe I've never tried it before." 

"Well, it's not the kind of drink people usually stock up on when they have a party," Regina said to her with a chuckle. 

"I'm not usually the kind of person that goes to parties. I'm more ‘a have a whiskey’ at home type. Now whiskey I know."

"Well perhaps you could get us a bottle at some point," Regina said. Emma nodded and took another sip. 

As the night continued they had a few more glasses and both got pretty giggly. So it took Regina by surprise when someone knocked on the door.


	21. chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Emma and Regina looked at each other, both wondering who it could be at this hour. When Regina got up, she was a little wobbly which made Emma giggle. 

Regina pulled the door open revealing Ariel, Robin, and Alice. 

"Hey, guys what's up?" Emma said from across the room. Regina let them in and walked back over to the couch. 

They stood in her living room, eyeing Regina and Emma with all looking serious while they sat on the couch grinning at them. Then three women looked at each other and then the empty bottle on the table. It was clear the stupid grins on their faces meant they had been drinking. 

"We needed to come find you ASAP with a warning. We have heard that Maleficent knows about you two and she's pissed," Robin said in a serious tone. 

"Knows what about us?" Emma said, pretending to not know what they were talking about. 

"Don't play stupid with us, Emma. It's pretty obvious how chummy the two of you have become. Obviously, we don't care, but Maleficent has an issue with it and has been very verbal about it." Ariel explained. 

Regina looked a little worriedly at Emma. 

"I think we can handle Maleficent, guys," Emma said dismissively. Maybe it was the alcohol that made her not pick up on the gravity of the situation, or that she didn't care who knew about them. All she knew was that no one was going to take Regina away. 

"Seriously, Emma. Some of the stuff I heard her and her friends talk about is diabolical," Alice said to them. Regina's face suddenly turned dark. She knew what Maleficent and her friends were capable of. 

"Guys I think you need to come in and perhaps tell us what happened," Regina said to them. "I get us all a drink and we can sit and talk" 

Regina went to the kitchen and left them in the front room. They all went and sat down. Emma couldn't help but notice how quiet they were being. 

"Sooo… what you guys been up to?" Emma asked them, hoping to shift the awkwardness between them. Ariel looked at Emma with a pointed glare. 

"You are with Regina and you didn't even say anything" Ariel burst out at her. Emma 's eyes widened. She didn't know what to say. Finally, she decided she needed to tell them the truth. 

"It's early days, we don't want anyone to know yet," Emma told them they looked at her. 

"Why couldn't you at least tell us?" Robin asked a lot more calmly than Ariel. Emma sagged her head. 

"I didn't want to ruin it. It's been unbelievable." Emma said to her, she didn't want them to think she didn't trust them but she just hadn't been ready to tell them and ruin the spell. 

"I understand Emma. Love is fickle and some people would do anything to ruin it." Alice said with a smile. Emma immediately started to panic. 

"We only started dating yesterday, I don't want to be throwing around the L word yet," Emma said even if she did feel it. 

"Emma is real here, you've been cruising on her since you met her," Ariel said to her knowing that the blonde was in fact in love with Regina. 

"Shush, keep your voice down I don't want her to hear you guys and freak out," Emma said worried that Regina would think she was clingy. Just as Emma said that Regina walked into the room with a few glasses and a bottle of something alcoholic and fancy looking. 

"Who would freak out?" She asked only after having caught the tail end of the conversation. 

"You… Uh, when you hear what Maleficent has got planned." Emma said, trying to cover quickly. Emma looked at Ariel as to say something quickly. 

"Yes, I was just telling Emma how we overheard Maleficent saying she was going to corner Emma and force her to leave you so she could have you all to herself, "Ariel told Regina.

"Oh well, maybe we need to make sure that isn't possible. There is no telling what she would do to get her own way," Regina said sitting next to Emma. "I know you're strong but Maleficent has ways of hurting people that you couldn't even imagine. I heard stories about how she treated some of her fellow students. Even Cruella and Ursula are pieces of work when they feel like their power is being threatened." Regina told her having heard stories of the trio before they had been selected for her crew. 

"For now I just want to enjoy this. I know there are going to be people with issues but to be honest, I think between the two is we can do anything." Emma said she was a little tipsy but she meant what she said. 

"We have your back too guys if you ever need us," Ariel told them and Robin and Alice nodded in agreement. 

"Thanks, I knew I could trust you three," Emma said with a smile. She was so glad she had found friends that genuinely wanted to be friends with her. She had to admit she was worried about telling August and Ruby about her blossoming relationship with Regina. She knew that she was overthinking it but she didn't want a lecture about how difficult it was going to be because she had already overthought it too much. 

"So what am I going to freak out about," Regina said, turning to Emma. Emma just looked at her like a deer caught in headlights. Regina looked expectantly back at her. Emma sighed and squirmed a little. 

"Just something that the girls mentioned about me and you," Emma said, not wanting to let it slip. 

Regina faced the other three. Ariel and Robin looked away and pretended not to see her staring at them. Except for Alice who was blissfully aware of how awkward Emma was at that moment. 

"What? All we know is Emma has been crushing on you for a long time and that she feels very strongly towards you," Alice said with a smile. 

Regina smirked and turned to face Emma. "You've been 'crushing' on me for a while?"

Emma's cheeks immediately flushed red. Regina put her arm around Emma's shoulders, and she hid in the brunette's side. Regina gently asked, "So how long have you liked me for?" 

Emma mumbled something into Regina's side. Regina chuckled at how cute Emma was when she was embarrassed. 

"Sorry I didn't quite catch that," She said before placing her fingers under Emma's chin and lifting her head up. Emma's face was now bright red. 

"Since I walked into the lamp post," Emma whispered so only Regina could hear. 

Regina smiled sweetly at her. "I have to say even though giving yourself a concussion was quite the introduction, I did take a liking to you too once I came to see you," Regina told her stroking a finger over Emma's rosy cheek. Emma smiled back at her and Regina bent down to peck her on her lips lightly. 

"Awee you guys are so cute," Ariel said to them. Emma and Regina looked at her.   
Emma grinned and Regina snarled at her, not like being called cute. 

Emma felt Regina take a deep breath. She rested her hand on Regina's chest, the brunette faced her. 

"It's okay, she knows you're a captain," Emma said, trying not to chuckle. Regina pouted. The three girls chuckled at the pair. 

"We best go get some sleep and see what the situation in the dorms is like," Robin said sadly not really wanting to leave but knowing that they should give them some space. 

"Well, I'm glad you came over to tell us the situation," Regina said to them, grateful to have someone on their side. She really didn't want Emma to get hurt. She didn't mind if something happened to her but Emma was special; if someone hurt her there would be hell to pay. 

"Yeah thanks, guys, I owe you one," Emma told her, feeling slightly tired now. Emma blamed the drinks. She lay her head on Regina's shoulder and yawns. 

"Okay well, we will catch you up soon on it all. I hope you guys have a good night." Ariel said as the three girls stood up to leave. 

"Oh, there's some apple turnovers in the kitchen if you would like to take some with you," Regina offered.

"I'm definitely having one. Nothing tastier than Aunty Regina's apple turnover!" Robin said with a grin and pulled the girls to the kitchen. They came back all holding one, Robin had already tucked into her. "Thank you." 

They all waved goodbye as they left and closed the door behind them. 

"Come on off to bed with you. I'm not in the mood to drag you there again." Regina chucked remembering sleepy Emma from the night before. Emma remembered too, and chuckled with her. 

It was the first time in a long time she had gone to bed after that ten. She lent Emma some of her pajamas. Emma found herself too nervous to get dressed in the same room as Regina, excused herself to the ensuite. Once she was dressed, she climbed under the covers and watched as Regina joined her. Regina didn't quite feel like dropping off yet, so she pulled her book from the nightstand. 

"Oh, what are you reading?" Emma asked her to look over to see. Her eyes couldn't focus on the page properly. She looked up at Regina who was trying to concentrate but couldn't because she could feel Emma's eyes on her. 

"It's called Ash. Robin suggested it. I've only just started reading it but it's quite good. Not usually my kind of book but I'm quite enthralled. Would you like me to read it to you?" Regina asked her. 

Emma nodded with a grin, so Regina began to read. She expected Emma to drift off to sleep, but Emma’s silence was because she was awake and listening. Every now and then Emma would make a noise, reacting to something in the story. Emma found it interesting too. But soon Emma’s silence lasted longer than expected, and she had fallen asleep. Regina decided to call it quits too and finally snuggled down next to her. She wrapped her in her arms around Emma, and Emma pulled in tighter to her. They fell asleep. 

Emma was sitting in the Baelfire alone. The ship was eerie and darker than usual. She could feel that something was wrong. The console in front of her was saying that she was the only one left alive on the ship. It was so damaged it was practically just floating in space. Something was making her unable to stand up. She looked down to see that ropes bound her to her chair. She tried her best to escape them but the more she moved the tighter they got. She tried to scream but no sound came from her mouth. Someone tapped her shoulder and startled her. She quickly turned her head to see who it was. Regina stood there behind Maleficent. They both were smirking at her darkly. 

“Did you really think I would want to be with you?” Regina said maliciously. Emma had never heard her voice sound that threatening before. “You are just a loner who doesn't deserve to have friends. Your nothing special, the most interesting thing about you is that your parents are dead.” 

"Regina, why are you being so mean?" Emma said, her voice shaking and tears threatening to fall. She studied Regina's face and her features were emotionless and cold. Maleficent began to walk next to Regina and Regina reached out and held her hand. This alone made Emma want to sob but instead, she fought against the sadness until it became anger. She managed to tear herself from her chair and charged at Maleficent. Feeling convinced the dragon of a woman had something to do with Regina's sudden change of heart. 

Before she could reach her everything turned black and she felt like she was falling through the black abyss. In the distance, she could hear someone calling her name. She didn't recognize the voice but somehow she knew it belonged to her mother. 

"Mom where are you!" she screamed hoping that she could be saved from her never-ending fall into the darkness.

Emma started to come out of her dream, but she heard someone still calling her name. 

"Emma, Emma...wake up..." It was Regina calling to her calmly. 

Emma's eyes flashed open and she found Regina hovering above her. Regina’s voice did not match her look of concern. 

Emma realized that she was drenched in sweat. 

"Regina," Emma whispered in a feeble voice. 

Regina pulled Emma towards her and hugged her tight. Emma was rapidly breathing, still triggered by the dream, but she started to catch her breath as Regina whispered encouraging words into her ears. 

"It’s okay you're safe, I’ve got you” Regina whispered back to her. The darkness of the room covered them like a blanket. Emma realized she was shaking, the dream still flashing through her mind. She held on tightly to Regina, who soothingly stroked her back. “Sorry I woke you but you were thrashing around and mumbling something,” Regina moved her hand across Emma’s damp hair. 

“It’s okay I’m glad you did. I was having the worst nightmare.” Emma said. She then realized that she might have to share the dream with Regina, but she would rather not. It was unpleasant, and she didn’t want Regina to think something was wrong with her and her feelings about her. It was little things like this that pointed out just how much Emma was not used to being close to someone, and showed her emotions at the drop of an ask.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Regina asked 

Emma thought about saying no. But she didn’t want to be that closed off person anymore. 

Regina was genuinely concerned, because she used to see a therapist about her nightmares. It helped her a lot to talk about them. Archie helped her a lot, and even though he disappeared from her, she learned from him enough to control the fears that came from the nightmares. The new nightmare that scared her to her core was about losing Henry. 

Emma sighed and began. “I dreamt that you didn’t want to be with me and you were with Maleficent instead. I got super angry and tried to attack her but everything suddenly disappeared and then I heard someone shouting my voice and I could have sworn it was my mother.” Emma’s voice was shaky. She was so feeling so vulnerable as she took a deep breath and waited for Regina’s reply. 

Regina empathized and wanted to reassure her. “Emma I’m being 100% honest when I say that you are the only person I want to be with. Trust me, it took me long enough to come to terms with my feelings but when I did I realized they were solid. Emma Swan, I am all in.” She heard Emma sigh loudly and realized that what she had said has helped the blonde calm down considerably. 

There was a light tap on the door. 

Emma looked at Regina who smiled. “It’s Henry, he has a kind of fifth sense when it comes to knowing when someone he loves is in distress. I can tell him to go back to bed if you like.” 

Emma was touched. She shook her head no. She loved Henry, and maybe a cuddle from her smallest best friend is what she needed. 

“Come in sweety,” Regina called out into the darkness. 

The door slowly opened, letting light filter into the room. Henry’s small frame came forward. Regina turned on the lamp beside her bedside so he could find them. Regina could see the worry written on his face. “It’s okay my little prince, Emma just had a nightmare is all.” 

She saw his face relax a little but he looked at Emma. Emma gestured him over to invite him into their hug. He quickly excepted and wiggled in between them. He snuggled into Emma and wrapped his arms around her,

“It's okay Emma, Mommy said my hugs are the best thing for nightmares. They just chase them away,” Henry said softly to her. 

Emma chuckled lightly and gave Henry a small squeeze. “I think good hugs run in the family,” Emma said smiling at Henry and then at Regina.


	22. chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen  
The next day Emma woke up with Henry practically lay on top of her and Regina who had wrapped herself around the both of them. This brought a smile to Emma’s face, she could get used to this. Henry was letting off tiny adorable snores like kitten purrs. She couldn’t believe how sweet he was. Regina had her head on Emma’s shoulder. Emma brushed the brunette's hair lightly causing Regina to stir awake and opened her eyes. When she saw Emma and Henry, she gave a sleepy smile. 

“How am I supposed to wake him up when it's the cutest thing I have ever seen,” Emma whispered. 

Regina chuckled. “It's okay I took a picture before I fell asleep.”

“You have to give me a copy.” 

Regina planted a sweet kiss on Emma’s cheek and gently removed herself from Henry's grip. She tried her best not to wake him.

“I’ll go make us some breakfast, You can wake him up, but let me warn you he’s a nightmare in the mornings.” 

Emma gave Regina a look that said she didn't believe her. 

“You’ll see.” Regina put on her robe and walked out softly.

Alone, with Henry still asleep on her, Emma couldn't help but reflect on how much things had changed so quickly in the last few days. It filled her with happiness. She smiled to herself; somehow she managed to find Regina and she cares for her back! Also, she was surprised at herself for being comfortable with someone who had a kid. She still didn't believe she was good with children, Henry was really easy to hang out with. 

She lay there for a few more moments just smiling to herself. She felt Henry move and looked down at the sleepy eyes of the eight-year-old confused, but not upset, about using Emma as a pillow. He smiled a dopey grin at her; he looked like Regina when she smiled at her that morning. 

Henry slowly pulled himself off Emma but sat beside her and cuddled into her side.  
He yawned a little and Emma put an arm over his shoulders.

“Mom seems happier since you became her friend. She smiles a lot more.” Henry said. 

Emma smiled brightly. She was doing something right.

Regina walked into the bedroom carrying a tray of breakfast goodies and laid it on the bed. Henry immediately went for his favorite cereal Cinnamon Toast Crunch. He did a little chuckle, excited his Mom was letting him have some. She only let him have it when he had been extra well behaved. 

He did a little happy dance as he poured some into a bowl and Regina put milk on it for him. He grabbed his spoon and dug in. Emma opted for the pastry that Regina had brought up and Regina went for the healthy option of toast. Once they finished Regina told Henry to go brush his teeth and get ready.

“So I was thinking Henry and me could show you how we like to have fun on the base. Maybe go bowling, swimming and we could visit one of the fast-food areas?” Regina told her. 

“That sounds like fun, I’m not sure I can afford it though because I’m paying off my medical bills. I’m only just managing to feed myself.” Emma said honestly, hating that she would have to miss out on a day with Regina because she was broke.

“Don’t worry about money, I can cover you. I don’t want you to miss out on things because Rumple decided to be an ass. I knew he was an ass but seriously abandoning you as soon as you are about to go on your first mission was unbelievably cold.” 

Emma looked slightly uncomfortable at the suggestion. “I’m not sure Regina, I don’t like people paying for me. I feel bad because I can't return the favor.”

“Emma you don’t have to pay me back or anything. If it makes you feel so uncomfortable I’m sure you can think of something that will make you feel better about it.”

“Okay, I will pay you back in some other way. Thank you, Regina, I’ve been dying to go for a swim.” Emma said to her with a happy grin. “Okay I’ll go get ready and I’ll meet you back here in an hour or so!” Emma was excited about being able to go out and do something other than sitting around reading. She loved books but it was starting to get boring.

“I’ll see you later. I can’t wait to see you in a swimsuit,” Regina said with a wink. 

Emma blushed. “Bye,” Emma said. Her heart felt like it was soaring. Once she reached her room she saw her friends sitting around talking and laughing. 

Ariel turned to face her and chuckled at the grin on Emma’s face. “I’m guessing you had a good time last night.”

Emma’s grin became even wider as she sat down next to her. 

“‘Sup Emma? I haven’t seen you around here for a couple of days. Where have you been hiding?” Jefferson asked her. 

“Oh I met someone, so I’ve been with them, getting to know them. I’m going back, I just need stuff to get ready.”

“So who is this new girl and how come we haven’t met her yet?” Graham asked.

“I will let you guys know when I’m ready. I’m taking my time.” Emma hoped that was enough to deter them from asking more questions. Emma realized there was someone missing from the room. “Where’s Mulan?” 

“Where do you think? Her and Ruby have been inseparable since they got together,” Ariel replied.

“Perhaps I should drop in on them, and August. I feel like it's been awhile since I spent time with them.” Emma contemplated. She did miss hanging out with them. Perhaps Regina might even want to come and get to know them more. They were the closest thing Emma had to family. 

Her friend stopped questioning, but sucked her into their conversation. Before she realized it she had been chatting with them for almost twenty minutes. She now had less than forty minutes to take a shower and get ready—she knew Regina was the kind of person that if you told her an hour, you best only take an hour. She excused herself and grabbed her things to take to the bathroom area. 

She walked into the shower room and placed her things on the side where they were safe from the water. She slowly undressed and stepped into the warm welcoming waters. She sighed as her muscles began to relax. She started to zen out as she began to wash, enjoying the soothing water on her skin. She didn’t hear the door of the showers open and close and she didn't hear when someone approached her. She did however hear an unsettling voice:

“So you think it’s okay to take Regina from me?” 

The sinister tone made Emma jump. She turned her head to look at who it was. She was beginning to also feel embarrassed that they walked in on her in showering. It was Maleficent standing behind her, and Cruella standing behind her! They both seemed to take pleasure in catching Emma off guard. 

“Do you mind I’m kind of busy here?” Emma said firmly, trying her best to keep her voice level down and not give away how uncomfortable she felt. 

Maleficent just glared at her. 

“Darling, I don’t think you realize that we don’t care. We have some business to deal with and that is making sure that you don’t go anywhere near Regina.” Cruella said to her almost in a hiss.

“I don’t think you get a say in what either Regina or I do,” Emma told them. How dare they think that they could have any control over her life. Even on the ship, she was their superior; only a rank higher but it still counted. 

“Maybe not, but there are ways to persuade you from wanting to be with her.” Maleficent said to her with an evil smirk. 

The look made Emma want to shudder but she managed to hold herself together until both of them grabbed her. They fought her to the floor, and Cruella held her down, with Maleficent hovering above her. She held her face close to Emma, her nose practically touching the blonde’s. 

“This is your first warning. Stay. Away. From. Regina!” She then took something out of her pocket. Something shiny caught Emma’s eye. It was a pocket knife, small, but it still terrified Emma because she didn't doubt the woman holding it would hesitate to use it on her. She pressed the tip of the blade on Emma’s stomach. Emma looked at the blade, then at Maleficent who was looking her dead in the eyes before she pressed it into Emma’s flesh. Emma cried out in unexpected pain as Maleficent dragged the knife across her stomach. She watched as blood spilled out of the cut. 

Cruella let go of her and Maleficent jabbed Emma’s head with her foot. It wasn’t a hard kick but it was enough to give Emma a headache. The both of them left the showers. Emma felt tears falling down her face, the pain was excruciating. She looked down at her stomach, blood flowed freely from the long cut. It pooled on the floor slowly. Emma panicked and losing blood didn’t know what to do. Every time she tried to move, a new wave of pain would hit her. 

She was trying her best to reach her phone that was in her jean pocket that sat on the shower bench. However, the pain and blood loss took its toll and she could see spots in her vision. Just as she was beginning to black out she heard Regina’s voice calling her name and the shower doors open. 

“EMMA!” Regina shouted 

Emma’s eyes lifted to hers just as they fluttered shut. Regina ran over to Emma’s limp naked body and saw the long laceration on her stomach with blood gushing out of it. Regina quickly reached for a towel and pressed it into her wound, applying pressure. She pulled out her phone and called the emergency medical team. 

Regina knew full well who did this, but she still couldn’t believe how far they had gone. She knew Maleficent had a few issues but never realized how sadistic she was until now. Regina couldn’t help the tears that escaped her. She hated that she had caused this by her stupid choice in a fling. 

“I’m so sorry Emma, I promise I will fix this. That bitch is going to pay for this,” Regina told her through gritted teeth. 

Regina wanted Maleficent off her ship. And her friends. She would need Emma’s statement when she woke, and Emma’s friends if they heard anything, to make statements, anything they knew or overheard, so that the case against Maleficent would be strong to get her off her crew. 

A few minutes later the medical crew came through the doors carrying a stretcher. They lifted Emma’s body onto it whilst a woman asked Regina what had happened. Regina gave her everything she saw. She also wanted to speak to authorities and report her suspicion of whom it may be. The woman asked if she would be going with them to the hospital, and she said she would. Regina called Ruby to take Henry to Zelena’s before following the crew to the medical bay, and to please not let on that there was anything wrong. 

They took Emma in, but asked Regina to wait in the waiting room. They needed to determine what shape she was in. 

As Regina waited, she was filled with guilt and images of Emma laying on the bathroom floor covered in blood. Regina was filled with an assortment of mixed emotions. She was so distraught that Emma had been hurt but she also felt the need to get revenge for what Maleficent did. The longer she waited, the more her feelings became anger, an anger that she wasn’t sure she could dampen. 

Thankfully, the doctors came to get her before her emotions and thoughts spiralled out of control. They let her know that Emma was stable, although she had lost a lot of blood, but not enough for a transfusion. When Regina saw her, she was hooked up to monitors and an IV. She sat on the chair next to Emma and held the blonde's hand, which was warm. The doctor had told her that Emma would recover well. They were able to stitch up her wounds right there. No internal organs were damaged. They gave her morphine for the pain and she would be asleep for a while. 

It didn’t matter if Emma was sleeping, she was not going to leave her side.


	23. Emma's diary entry 3

Emma diary entry three  
So I woke up in the medical center, I was pretty out of it, to be honest, for the first few minutes I had no idea what had happened. I genuinely thought I had dreamt the last few days with Regina. Until I looked over and she was sitting beside my bed fast asleep. Had she slept next to me the entire time I had been here? That couldn’t have been comfortable.

She was sitting upright in the chair but her head was lulled to the side, her hand was in mine. It didn’t take long for her to wake up like she had somehow realized I had awoken. As soon as she saw my open eyes, she smiled at me. I smiled back a little drowsily because I still wasn’t 100% sure what I was doing there until I tried to sit up and a horrendous pain shot through my body.

I looked down and saw midriff all wrapped in bandages. I looked at Regina confused, my stomach feeling like it was on fire. Surely they should give me something to help that. Regina looked tired, beautiful, but tired. Her hair was messer than usual and her clothes crumpled which was shocking because the only other time I have seen her look like that was when she had just woken up. 

“Thank the gods you woke up, I was beginning to think they gave you too much morphine,” Regina said in a soft but anxious tone. I was still pretty confused at what was going on. Regina picked up on that because she started to explain to me what happened. I can’t believe that dragon of a woman nearly sliced my stomach open. What a psychopath. I knew she was a little bit off one’s rocker but seriously that woman needs to be locked up. 

Once she had told me what had happened I asked Regina how Henry was and tried to convince her that he should come and see me. She had some good reasons why he couldn’t but I missed the little trouble maker. She also informed me what the nurses had said about my injury and that I couldn’t be put back in action until it had healed more. They didn’t want me to split my stitches open and have to sew me up again. Regina also informed me that I had been out for 24 hours and in that time all of my friends had come to see me.

“I mean it’s pretty obvious we are together but I didn’t really care, all I wanted was for you to be safe. None of them even mentioned it so I guess they realized that it wasn’t the time to bring it up. Ruby and August have been visiting quite a bit. The first time they visited Ruby had to take August out to calm him down. Ruby was upset too but for some reason, August just couldn’t hold himself together.” Regina told her as she explained what had been going on. Emma knew it would be August that cried. He likes to pretend that he is super tough but he is more emotional than Ruby. By the time Regina had finished catching me up, it was visiting time and the first person to visit me was a surprise.

Hook and Ursula walked through the doors, instead of their usual arrogant stride, they seemed a little defeated. They both saw that I was awake and gave me a half-hearted smile. I could tell Regina was immediately on guard considering who they associated with, I didn’t blame her. But in reality, I had no real reason to be scared of these two. When they reached my bed I could see Regina was about to say something but I stopped her. She looked at me confused and on edge.

“Hey love, we wanted to come see how you were doing, we know you probably don’t want to see us but we needed to come talk to you,” Hook said to her his voice told me that he was honestly there to see how I was.

“I’m doing okay. I woke up a few hours ago. Regina caught me up on what happened,” I told them wondering why they felt the need to come to see me.

Then Ursula said, “We just wanted to tell you we didn’t know what they were up to. If we did, we would have tried to stop them. There is a difference between being salty and being a complete evil bitch, and well, I like to think I’m more of the first. I have never had anything against you.” 

I felt she was telling the truth. And the way Hook put his arm around Ursula’s shoulders to comfort her made me think that these two had gotten together. 

“So we wanted to come and update you on what is going on with them. After all of us put in our statements of what we knew, or heard, the authorities took them in and questioned them. They confessed! They are now being sent back to earth to sit in front of a judge and definitely be found guilty and off to prison. Hopefully, we will never see or hear from them again.” As Ursula told me the news, she looked genuinely relieved that they were gone. “We also wanted to say to you, Regina, that we are sorry for our arrogant and cruel manner before. You will see better from us from now on.” 

“Well, we can talk to them too and tell them what you have said. I’m sure they are not the kind of people to hold grudges, especially Ariel. She is all about forgiveness.” 

Ursula seemed happy to hear this. 

“How did you all become friends to begin with?” I asked her hoping my question wasn't not too nosey; but I was really curious. 

“Believe it or not it was Rumple who introduced me to them. I came from a bad background. My mother had been killed and my father was hell-bent on getting revenge on the people that killed her. He even tried to force me into his madness but when I refused he took away the one thing my mother had given me and refused to associate with me. I was left all alone in the world. I tried my best to make a life for myself but I was so bitter and twisted. Somehow Rumple found me and convinced me to join his company and train to become a part of his space force. I roomed with Cruella and Maleficent who were also orphaned. I was bitter and let it shape me, but they seemed to take their life experience to another level. But they wanted me as a friend, and often I pretended to be on their level. After a few years of playing the part, I actually started to turn dark. All I ever wanted was to find my place in this world. Since we have been assigned to this ship, I felt I found my place. I didn't want to be like them anymore. They just wanted to hate the world. Once I met Hook I realized that I no longer needed to be as manipulative or evil as I once was.”

“I wonder if my godfather knew what they were like when he put you with them?” I pondered out loud.

“Honey I’m sorry to say Rumple knew exactly what would happen when he placed Ursula in that room. There are parts of your Godfather that you have still yet to discover. He is darker than you could ever imagine. At some point, I will tell you but right now you need to focus on getting better.” Regina told me. 

Her words made my head race with all kinds of thoughts, especially what kinds of things could he be keeping from me about my parents?

Not long after they left, the rest of the crew came to visit me, except of course Pan who no one really associated with. He was very much a loner and to be honest he kind of creeped everyone out. We all chatted and everyone of course decided this was the best time to approach the subject of Regina and me dating. To be honest it went better than I thought it would. I thought people would be pissed at me for being with the Captain. But everyone seemed okay with it. In fact, they all pretty much told us they knew it was going to happen. 

“To be honest you’ve been giving each other googly eyes since we got on the shuttle here,” Jefferson told us. 

Regina frowned at him. “I do not make googly eyes at people.” She protested. 

I grinned at her and well this made Regina’s rebuttal invalid. The rest of the crew laughed when Regina realized what had happened and tried to fight it.

“What have you done to me woman,” Regina sighed when she gave up trying to redeem her once-solid persona of being the tough, scary Captain. Maybe having a crew actually like her would make flying the ship easier. 

Once visiting hours were up and the crew had to leave I tried to convince Regina that she could go and sleep in her bed but she wasn’t having any of it. 

“I’m not leaving you here. I knew we needed to be careful, I underestimated what Maleficent was capable of and now you're here laying in a hospital bed. I am not going anywhere.” Regina said, making sure I was fully aware that there was nothing I could say to get her to leave my side. I did however convince her that she could share my bed with me. It was a little awkward at first but once we got in a comfortable position Regina finally stopped telling me it was a bad idea and we pretty much both fell asleep almost instantly.


	24. chapter 20

Chapter Twenty 

By the time Emma had healed enough that she could work again, Regina was working with Ruby and August to train the others in the ship's weapons, because their next mission was to seek out the ships that had been following them. They all knew this was risky but also knew if they didn’t get themselves ready it could end extremely bad.

Emma had also done her best to do the reading side of her training but today was the first day she would get to go into a simulation with her crew. She hoped she wouldn’t let them down. They were all back in their jumpsuits and ready to start. Emma had been a little late getting ready because putting on a jumpsuit was pretty difficult when you had stitches in your stomach but with help from Ariel and Alice, she had managed it.

Regina had been waiting for them when they all arrived. She looked at Emma nervously. Since the incident, Regina had been doing her best to help Emma study; she knew how nervous Emma was for the simulation. It would be her final test to see if she was ready to go back into the Baelfire. Chances are if she failed she would be sent back to earth and replaced

“Okay crew, today will be a test to see if we are ready for battle in the Baelfire. Now I want to let you know that no other crew has ever scored higher than 80% on this simulation other than one crew. I expect you to be better than all of them.” Regina said this speech to them; it was something she said to every crew she had the privilege to be Captain to. But something in her believed that this crew would be the one to beat the score. What she had observed told her they were all above average, especially Emma. With her, they would set a new record. “Everyone follow me and take your seats. Pilot, you may be the first to take your seat and everyone else may follow. Okay on the count of three I will begin the stimulation,” Regina took her seat. “1...2...3.” 

The walls around them came alive and a perfect image of space shone around them. Emma tried her best to not get distracted as she took hold of her controls. Ariel did the same. 

“Enemy on our right, close the distance, get ready to fire,” Regina commanded. 

Emma and Ariel moved their set up so they got closer to the ship. Hook and Mulan readied their weapons when the enemy ship was closer. Regina gave her signal and Hook and Mulan fired their weapons at the ship, hitting it the first time. 

“Well done. We have signals that five ships are heading towards us. Float the ship and get weapons ready.” Regina commanded once more. 

Emma put the ship into float mode as the enemy came into sight and Hook moved the weapons to face ships. 

“Alternate shots. Mulan gets first hit,” Regina shouted at them. 

Mulan readied herself. As soon as she could she took the shot and hit the first ship, then began to ready her next as Hook was next; he also hit its mark. This continued until all ships were downed.

“Okay, the next part gets harder so everyone gets ready,” Regina told them. “Ships have surrounded us. We must keep a steady course, weapons at the ready. Secondary weapons ready.” 

This part of the simulation was time for the big guns. Ruby got ready to fire. Emma was most intrigued to see her Ruby in action. She assumed they had to be good because Regina picked them to be on her crew, but watching How Ruby was in action still got her full attention. A fleet of ships surrounded them and Emma used her skills to dive in and out of the way of missiles and ships. Ruby was sharp and they took down a significant amount of ships. Within no time at all, they were back in a safe space and the simulation was over. 

“Okay crew that was our last test run, for now. You will get results by the end of the day. If you pass, we shall be on our first mission by tomorrow.” Regina informed them as everyone exited the simulation room. 

Emma was the last to leave. She and Regina were going to go to the medical bay so they could remove Emma’s stitches. Emma was dreading it and had asked Regina to come with her, although Regina told her she would have come even if she didn't ask her too.

While waiting to be fetched by a nurse, Regina could see Emma was nervous because she kept bouncing her leg up and down. Regina pressed a hand to the blonde's knee and gave it a comforting squeeze. 

“It’s going to be okay, they are trained professionals and know what they are doing. Considering how many times you've been in a hospital the last few months I would have thought you would be okay with them.”

Emma who shrugged. “I just hate being here. It makes me feel uncomfortable.” 

“Well there's no need to be frightened. I know the nurse who is taking out your stitches and she is wonderful.” 

And just as Regina finished saying that, to Emma’s surprise, Mrs. Lucus entered the waiting room. Emma was so glad to see the woman that she stood up too quickly and hurt herself but she didn't care; she practically ran over to granny to hug her. 

“Hey you, I’m glad to see you doing better. Ruby let me know after you left the hospital what happened to you. So I made sure that when you returned, I personally would take care of you.” 

This comforted Emma a lot. She also realized that she had missed her. 

“Okay follow me and I will have those stitches out in no time.”

Granny led both women to a room and had Emma remove her top so she could get to the stitches. Regina sat next to Emma. Although Emma was glad for granny, she reached for Regina’s had for extra comfort. Regina squeezed and held tight, giving her hand a kiss. Emma smiled at her. 

Granny approached Emma with her sterilized tools. “Okay just because they are out now doesn’t mean you don’t still need to be careful. Take things slow and don’t do anything too strenuous. I don’t want you to get stitched back up again.” She then turned to Regina. “Make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.” 

Regina chuckled and nodded. “I don’t think there will be any issues. I’ll be watching her like a hawk.”

Emma sat still holding her breath whilst Granny carefully and skillfully took her stitches out. Emma could feel the stitches come out. She gripped Regina’s hand tighter. She watched it all. It was a little gruesome and incredibly uncomfortable but once she was finished Emma felt so much better.

Regina helped Emma off the table and handed her her shirt. Once dressed Emma gave granny a thank you hug and expressed desire to see her and Ruby for dinner soon. Granny agreed, only if Regina was there too. She winked at Emma and Regina. Clearly Ruby told her they were together. They all laughed. She then walked them out of the medical bay. 

Regina and Emma walked to Zelena’s to pick Henry up.

“So I was thinking that maybe when we go, that you could stay in my room in the Baelfire from now on? I know the others might find it strange but I find it easier to sleep when you are beside me.” Regina asked Emma who smiled at her. 

"I was hoping you would ask me. I was planning to sneak in anyway. I don't think I can sleep properly unless you're beside me. And I had the most horrific nightmare last night,” Emma said recalling her nightmare and shuddering about Maleficent and Cruella hunting her down. She couldn't help it ever since the incident; she hated being alone. She knew they were no longer around but she couldn't seem to calm her nerves. She felt safe when her friends were around her but she truly felt relaxed when she was with Regina. 

Regina took her by the arm pulling her close. "Awe honey, I promise they will never harm you again." 

Emma pulled Regina into a hug and held on tightly for a long while. Regina embraced her tightly too.

Emma pulled away first, before she started to cry. “Okay well, I am excited to have a playdate with Henry! He said he needs my help to build something that apparently will blow my mind!”

When they arrived, Henry was very excited. Emma could finally play with him again. On the way home, he practically skipped back home and talked nonstop about his idea. Once they got home he ran to his room to gather the surprise. He soon came out carrying a huge cardboard spaceship. It was missing a few parts but for an eight year old the craftsmanship was pretty impressive. He had cut out a window and replaced it with see through plastic. He had painted it gray and put glitter on it so it sparkled. He plonked it in front of Emma. He grinned widely at her then ran into his room to fetch the rest of his materials. He dragged a box with more cardboard, some paints and glue in and put it next to the ship. 

"I made our spaceship. I was making it for when you got better but I didn't finish in time but Mommy said that you would help me." Henry was clearly proud of his creation. 

"Wow, Kid, this is amazing! You did this all by yourself?" Emma asked him. 

"Kinda. Aunt Zelena helped me with the cutting parts and she found loads of boxes for me." Henry said to Emma. "It just needs a roof and it's thru-sters." He looked at Regina to see if he had said the right word. Regina chuckled at her adorable son and nodded so he knew he had.

"Let's get to work then on the best ship I have ever seen. What is its name?" Emma asked him.

"Swan Ship. Mommy said that was your last name." Henry said a little shyly. 

Emma felt genuinely elated by the fact that Henry had named his ship after her. She knew it was strange to feel so emotional about it but for once she finally felt like she had a family. Even though she and Regina were still in early days she felt closer to her and Henry than anyone else in her life. Emma looked at Regina who could see the blonde was getting emotional. Regina put her arm around Emma who rested her head on her shoulder. Emma gestured for Henry to come over and hug them. She didn’t know what to say. 

Later on that day, once Emma and Regina had helped Henry with his spaceship, they decided to sit down and watch a movie whilst they waited for the results of the test to come in. Henry put on one of his favorite films Big Hero 6. It so happened to be one of Emma’s too. 

“I wanna build robots. It’s so awesome and I could even build a ship that flew itself!” Henry said. Emma found herself continually impressed by Henry and his mind. If anyone was going to grow up and invent a self-flying spaceship it would be Henry. 

“I’m sure as long as you work hard at school you could be anything you wanted to be,” Regina replied. She knew her child was more intelligent than most. She intended to be supportive of all his dreams and endeavors.

“I bet you're gonna grow up to do amazing things kid,” Emma told him, ruffling his hair as she did. Henry looked at her glowing. He liked having her approval as much as his mothers. 

They continued to watch the movie together, although Regina fell asleep, snuggled into her. Just after the movie was over Regina’s phone buzzed and woke her up. She answered it quickly and tried her best to seem like she hadn’t just been napping. 

“Hello, Regina Mills speaking.” She said, and then she went quiet for a long moment. Emma became intrigued. Was it the test results?

“That is amazing news, thank you. I shall let my crew know immediately!” Regina hung up and faced Emma, grinning. “So you all passed.” 

Emma looked wide-eyed at Regina. She couldn’t believe their crew was that good! She clapped and let out a “Yesss!!!”

Regina looked very proudly at her. “Also...you all managed to beat the highest recorded score and time.” Emma looked at Regina stunned. 

“You’re kidding?!” Emma said flabbergasted. 

Regina nodded. “Not kidding. And that score was set by your mother’s crew.” 

Emma looked at Regina in shock. She couldn’t believe that they were all that good. Everyone knew that crew was the best–it was why it was such a shock at what happened to them. It always made Emma proud that it was her mother’s crew who held the record. Now, it was her crew. That fact made this achievement even better. Her mother would probably be proud of her. The thought started to bring tears to her eyes, but she stopped herself. 

“We need to tell the crew!” Emma said excitedly, so proud of the crew. This was going to mean so much to all of them. 

Regina called Ruby and August first. They quickly answered. They must have been eager for results. Regina gave Emma the phone. Emma looked at her questioningly but Regina said smiling at her, “I’ll let you do the honors...I know you want to.”

She took the phone without hesitation, smiling from ear to ear. “Hey guys, it’s Emma!” 

August said, “You’re on speaker.” 

Ruby said, “Emma? You called us from Regina’s phone?” Emma could hear her and August snickering, as well as more voices.

“Wait, who else is there?” Emma felt a little embarrassment coming on. She looked at Regina, who started to laugh.

“Oh, just EVERYONE. The crew. We are all waiting...do you have test results or what?” Ruby asked.

Emma returned to being excited. “We do…” She gave a dramatic pause. “We all passed!!!” 

They heard a huge cheer in the background. 

“Wait, wait, that’s not all...“ Emma waited until they settled down, hearing Ruby telling them to be quiet, Emma has more news. “We managed to get the best score and time...EVER!”

“What? The record highest score? The one that was set by your…” Ruby said but got interrupted by an excited Emma.

“Yes! That score. Our crew managed to beat the record set by my mom’s crew!” She practically screamed. 

Ruby told everyone and Emma heard an even bigger celebratory sound. Emma grinned at Regina who was so glad Emma was happy with their results. 

Regina knew that her crew was above average, but now there was actual proof of that. 

Emma and Ruby chatted for a little while longer before they said their goodbyes. Regina left them as she went to prepare them all dinner, with Henry helping. Emma walked in to find that Regina had put music on whilst they were cooking and both her and Henry were dancing to it. It was an adorable moment. They were also wearing matching aprons which made it that much sweeter. Emma pulled out her phone and started to record them. The mother and son were having so much fun they didn’t spot Emma recording them until the song had finished. 

“Are you recording us?” Regina asked just as Emma stopped it. 

“Yep that was the cutest thing I have ever seen and now I can keep it forever.”

“Delete it,” Regina said playfully. 

Emma shook her head and held the phone away from her. “Nope it’s mine and I want to keep it.” 

“I wanna see it!” Henry said. Emma handed him the phone. As he watched, he laughed and laughed. “Mommy is so silly.”

“If anyone sees that they’ll begin to think I'm not as scary as I seem.”

Emma laughed loudly. “I think that ship sailed a long time ago.” 

“You’re not scary,” Henry said as he played the video again, laughing like the first time. 

Regina pushed Henry out of the kitchen with Emma’s phone. “Dinner is almost ready. Go wash up.” Regina then turned to Emma with a mock sigh, “You’re probably right. My days of being the intimidating Captain are over.” 

She gave Emma a peck on the lips as she put oven mitts on and pulled a huge tray out of it. 

Emma’s eyes popped out. “Oh my god, yes! Your lasagna could literally save lives.”

Regina shook her head and chuckled. 

“I’m serious,” Emma said.

Regina already had salad on plates waiting for lasagna. When he started to plate the first plate, Emma grabbed it and immediately dived. It was piping hot, but that didn’t stop her from trying. 

“At least wait until we are all sitting down to eat, Miss Swan,” Regina said, jokingly scolding the blonde. 

Emma licked her fork, huffed and took her plate and Henry’s to the table, where Henry was already sitting and waiting, still watching the video. 

“Me and mommy are so funny!” Henry said.

Regina sat down next to Emma, who was waiting impatiently to eat. “Henry, put the phone away, no distractions at the table.” He gave a little moan, but put it down. Regina looked at her little family with a grin. They both looked at her expectantly. “You can start eating now.” As soon as she said that, both Henry and Emma dug straight into their food. Regina ate it eloquently as always. 

Emma finished first. Regina told her to help herself to more, and Emma went to the kitchen quickly for a second helping. Henry finished just moments after, and looked at Regina if he could do the same. 

“Yes, only a little more,” Regina told him and he quickly took his plate to the kitchen. She heard Emma and Henry express their delight at seconds as Emma served him, and they returned happily with their plates. Regina was happy she could make them happy. 

Regina continued to eat her first serving, finishing just before Emma and Henry finished their seconds. She looked at both of them and saw they had a matching sauce mustache. She burst out laughing. 

“What?” They both asked in unison. Regina pulled out her phone and took a picture. She showed it to both of them and they looked at each other. 

“Oh,” Emma said and giggled trying to wipe it off with a napkin. Regina found a few wet wipes and handed one to Emma. She then used the one left over to clean up Henry, who wiggled about. 

“Right bath time for you and then bed,” She told Henry once she managed to get the most of it off. Henry frowned and tried to run away but Emma grabbed him. 

“Nope if your Mom says it's bath time it's bath time kiddo,” Emma said as Henry giggled at Emma picking him up. 

Regina led them to the bathroom and turned on the taps. She put a little bubble bath in it also. Emma went to fetch Henry as a towel as Regina coaxed him into the bath with toys. She put in his floating spaceship and his shark. 

Emma put the towel on the towel heater then sat next to the bathtub, She could see Regina was struggling to get Henry to corporate. 

“Hey Pilot, if I tell you a story will you behave for Mom,” Emma asked him. 

Henry nodded enthusiastically. So Emma began to tell him the tale of how she and Regina met, obviously making it a little more fairytale-like by making Regina a queen and herself a princess. Henry was so captivated by Emma’s story that Regina was able to wash him with no issue. Before he knew it he was finished. Regina got him out and wrapped him in the towel. He dried himself off in his bedroom and got changed into his pajamas. Once in bed, he asked Emma to continue the story.


	25. chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> M rated scene

Chapter Twenty one 

Henry went to sleep pretty fast; he was tired after a day of playing, making spaceships, and eating way too much lasagna. Emma joined Regina in the bedroom and went to change into her clothes. She climbed into bed with Regina. She watched as Regina read her book. For some reason, Emma was feeling especially brave.

“Hey, Regina?” 

“Yes, dear,” Regina said, putting a bookmark in the book.

“So I was wondering, how would you feel about us? Umm… doing the dirty? I know we've talked about it before and I said I wanted to wait but…” Emma asked, feeling her cheeks go a little red. 

Regina lifted an eyebrow in amusement. “You mean us having sex?” She knew exactly what the blonde meant, but loved the color her cheeks went when she was embarrassed. Regina chuckled. 

Emma regained her composure and wordlessly nodded. 

“I mean, that all depends on you, dear. I’m the experienced one here. It's up to you when you feel like you're ready.” Regina caressed her cheek to calm her. Emma was a virgin so she wasn’t going to push her. 

Regina touching her reminded Emma how it was becoming increasingly harder and harder to keep her hormones in check around Regina; the smallest things set her off. Emma told her with all conviction as she looked at her, “I am ready.”

Regina nodded. “You would be in control the entire time, if that would make you feel better?” Emma nodded and continued to stare at her, but then just sat there. It didn’t take Regina long to see the blonde was clueless as to what to do. She would have to make the first move. Regina placed her book on the nightstand. 

She then gave all her attention to Emma, who’s emerald eyes were fixated upon her; they screamed excitement and intimidation all at once. This made Regina realize she needed to go slowly with her. She leaned forward and planted a kiss on Emma’s lips. Emma immediately kissed her back and moved her hands to Regina’s hips. They both let out a soft moan at the contact, Regina smiled into the kiss and deepened it. Regina moved her hand to Emma's waist and pulled her closer to her gently. She lay down slowly pulling Emma along with her so the blonde was lay on top of her. Emma let out a little giggle when they hit the mattress. Regina smiled at her, knowing that the giggle meant Emma was nervous. 

"Remember, we can stop at any time you feel the need to," Regina reminded her, wanting Emma to know she didn't have to push herself into it.

“I am a little shaky, but it’s exciting. I want this," Emma kissed Regina hard and more passionate this time. She whispered into her mouth, “I want you.” Regina. moaned and slipped her tongue into her mouth. The kiss became more passionate and feverish as Emma planted herself more firmly over Regina. Her knees either side of Regina's waist, Regina moved her hands so they sat on Emma's hips and lifted her own to meet Emma's. Emma moaned and arched her body towards Regina's not wanting to lose the contact.

Emma placed her hands on Regina's stomach and slowly lifted her silk nighty and was met with the brunette's camisole. She raised it so it sat beneath Regina's breasts. Emma took in Regina's toned stomach and unconsciously licked her lips. Regina smirked at Emma, whose hands were lazily traveling over her skin which was as soft as velvet. 

Emma's hand's went cautiously up just under where the nighty sat, she looked at Regina as to ask if she could lift it further. Regina smirked then sat up a little and pulled off the nighty. Emma's gaze immediately fell to Regina's cleavage. Her eyes went wide when she realized what had just happened.

Regina chuckled a little at the blonde's innocent reaction. Emma blushed as Regina took her hand and placed them on her breast. Emma gave them a small squeeze which made Regina moan. This sound was reassuring for Emma because she became braver with her movements. She pinched Regina's nipple lightly made Regina moan louder than before. Emma stroked her hand through the brunette's hair as she continued to tease her nipple. Regina lent her head against Emma's hand and kissed her palm as she enjoyed the feeling of Emma teasing her. 

Emma leaned down and kissed her lips slowly. Whilst they were kissing, Regina took Emma's hand and placed it over her underwear. Emma let her fingers explore her center and found the center moist. Regina’s guidance and discovery gave Emma the confidence to rub her center. Regina began to purr. Emma liked her reaction so she continued to pleasure her sensitive area. This increased Emma’s desire and she felt her hormones going on overdrive. She could feel herself shaking even more from excitement, but she didn’t want to go so fast. She paced herself, and started to kiss Regina’s neck for a bit, enjoying how Regina writhed under her touch. 

It wasn’t long before Regina started to express the need for more. She reached down and started to lift Emma's top up. Emma stopped her exploration of Regina’s body, realizing Regina wanted to take her top off. When Regina got what she wanted and pulled Emma’s shirt off, she ran her fingers over Emma’s toned stomach, staring at Emma with a new found lust and stroked a hand down her stomach. 

"Mmm who would have known those abs were hidden under there.”

Emma blushed and tried to cover herself by crossing her arms over her chest. Regina looked Emma in the eye as she placed her hands on Emma's crossed arms and gently guided them away. “You have nothing to feel embarrassed about...you are beautiful." Regina sat up to meet Emma’s lips and she pressed into them tenderly. Regina felt Emma's muscles relax under her touch. 

Regina slowly rolled them over so she was on top of Emma, who looked up at her with hooded eyes. Regina bent down and kissed Emma once more. The feel of Regina's soft, warm skin on her own spurred Emma on. She let her instincts take over and grabbed hold of Regina's waist pulling her closer so there was no space between them. Regina was settled between Emma's legs and rested her pelvis on top of Emma's. She rolled her hips towards Emma's making the blonde groan in pleasure and rolled her hips towards Regina. 

When their underwear got too much of a hindrance, Emma made a hasty move to try and remove Regina’s. It didn’t exactly go the way Emma pictured it because she had no idea how to get them off gracefully. They fumbled for a few moments whilst Regina helped her and then proceeded to take Emmas’ off with a lot more finesse.

Once the underwear was gone Regina sat beside Emma who was still taking in Regina’s naked body. Regina placed her hand on Emma’s lower abdomen just above her sex. She looked up at Emma and could see the anticipation in her eyes. Emma placed her hand on Regina’s as to grant her permission to go further. Regina moved her hand a little lower so it lay on top of Emma’s center. Emma gasped a little at the contact, Regina’s touch made Emma’s body tremble in pleasure. Regina caressed Emma’s sex with a finger that was imminently met with wetness. Emma sucked in a breath at the contact unable to control her reaction to Regina stroking her. When the brunette's finger stroked over Emma’s clit it sent a wave of pleasure through Emma and made her moan. Regina continued to stroke and stimulate the area, eliciting Emma to purr or moan. Emma would find herself whispering Regina’s name. 

“More,” Emma moaned, then covered her mouth, embarassed at sounding so loud; but when Regina slowly moved her finger to the opening of Emma’s sex, her hand fell away from her mouth and gripped the bedsheets. 

Regina took her time, making sure not to hurt the blonde as she went deeper. She would stop every so often to allow the blonde's body to adjust to her being inside. The sounds that Emma made let Regina know that she was enjoying herself. She was tighter than anyone Regina had ever been with. Regina remembered something she kept on her bedside table. Emma groaned as Regina pulled her finger out but watched as she opened her bedside table draw and pulled out a bottle. Emma looked at Regina confused.

“Do you trust me?” Regina asked her. Emma nodded, unable to speak. Regina squirted a little onto her finger and held it to Emma’s mouth. The blonde without thinking took it into her mouth and tasted—it tasted of apple. Regina proceeded to put a little more liquid onto her hand and then rubbed in on to Emma’s sex. The cold sensation sent a tremble through the blonde which was doubled when Regina’s finger once again entered the blonde a lot smoother than before. Emma moaned louder as she felt Regina in her. The small amount of pain she had felt before lessened as the lube worked its magic. 

“Touch yourself, it will help,” Regina told her in a smoldering voice. 

Emma did as Regina said and closed her eyes as her orgasm began to build. She found that the more she was able to relax the better it felt. Emma opened her eyes and realized Regina was also touching herself. Watching the brunette enjoying her this much turned Emma on. She watched the brunette stroke herself, now and again moaning when she felt Emma tighten around her finger. Slowly but surely as Regina continued to stimulate herself and Emma felt her orgasm grow nearer. It felt different from how it usually did, stronger. Emma arched her back as it hit her hard. Regina handed her a cushion in hopes it would muffle the sound Emma made as she orgasmed. Emma took it as she peeked, practically screaming into the cushion. 

Once Emma recovered enough to speak, she said, “That was…” Which wasn't much. Her body was still trembling from head to toe. She still couldn’t believe that Regina made her feel that good, and there honestly were no words to describe it.

“I didn’t hurt you did I?” Regia asked.

Emma looked at Regina wide-eyed. “Are you kidding me. I mean at first, yeah, it kind hurt, but once the lube was their OH...MY...GOD” Emma said to her breathlessly. 

Regina smiled, glad that Emma had enjoyed herself so much.

“When is my turn to do you?” Emma asked her wanting to try and make the brunette feel as good as she just made her feel. 

“Let's give it a few minutes for you to calm down first” Regina chuckled at the blonde's enthusiasm to pleasure her. 

Emma nodded, still trying to calm her body down from her orgasm, but then she recalled how much it turned her on to see Regina please herself. She reached for Regina's hand, caressing her fingertips. “You know you could um...warm yourself up a little.”

Regina lifted an eyebrow at her and moved closer to Emma. “Oh really, you like that did you?” Regina whispered that sultrily into her ear. She felt Emma shudder. 

“Mmm,” Emma replied nodding. She still was trying to wrap her head around how sexually arousing Regina was. 

“How about you try instead?” Regina took Emma’s hand and guided it towards her sex. 

Emma became intensely excited and nervous. When she felt Regina's clit, she took her time because she wasn't sure if she could give Regina pleasure, but as she felt her, her hand had no problem taking over, treating her clita her own. And when Regina purred into Emma’s ear, it reassured her she was doing it right. As Emma grew more confident, she began to explore more and again seeking approval from Regina which was expressed by moans and the occasional mutter of Emma’s name. Emma grew bolder and hovered over Regina's opening. The brunette moaned a little louder as Emma explored further. The sounds it elicited from Regina rung through Emma’s head, she never thought that someone could ever sound that sexy in her life. Of course, she found everything about Regina alluring but something about the way she moaned Emma’s name made Emma’s body tingle. 

Once Emma got a little more certain about what she was doing she started to experiment a little. She learned what Regina enjoyed and what was too much. It didn’t take long before Regina’s orgasm began to build and Emma smirked to herself when the brunette started to help Emma out by touching herself desperate to reach her climax. Emma knew Regina was getting closer as her breaths turned to pants and her back arched from the bed. Regina was surprised and aroused by how good Emma was. When all of a sudden a wave of ecstasy washed over Regina who let out a whimper as she tried her hardest to hold in her voice. 

Emma lay beside the brunette who was catching her breath, Regina looked at Emma who had no idea what she had done. The look of bewilderment on Regina’s face confused Emma.

“Did I do something wrong?” Emma asked her wondering why her girlfriend looked so out of it. Regina shook her head and took a moment to pull herself together enough to talk.

“How did you know how to do that?” Regina asked Emma if she looked even more confused at Regina.

“What?” Emma asked, genuinely wondering what she had done. Regina looked at her gobsmacked. 

“You just… how can you… How is that possible? I've been with a woman with a whole lot more experience and I haven't even come close.” Regina told her.

Emma had no idea how to reply. “I just did what I thought you did.”

“God, I can’t wait to explore this more with you. If you're this good already god knows what it's going to be like later on,” Regina said smiling at Emma who looked adorably confused at the whole thing.

“Well, I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about it but in all honestly it was a lot more enjoyable than I thought after hearing my friends’ stories about their first time.” 

“Beautiful, in my experience, most first times aren’t anything like that! You are truly one in a million.” Regina took pride in making her blush.

“I wouldn’t go as far as that. You are the most stunning and incredible person I have ever met,” Emma kissed Regina.

Regina returned the kiss in a slow, languid manner. She held Emma close. Emma settled into her arms and they fell into a satisfied sleep, tangled in each other's arms. 

It was the first time in what felt like forever for Emma that her sleep wasn’t plagued with any nightmares


	26. chapter 22

Chapter Twenty two   
They both woke up the next day still wrapped around each other. Neither one wanted to move but both knew they needed to get ready for the day ahead of them. Regina was the first to drag herself out of bed. Emma watched as Regina walked into her bathroom completely naked. Emma was still trying to process what had happened the night before. She also couldn’t help the large grin that had taken over her features. She pulled a nightgown over herself as she waited for Regina to finish in the bathroom. 

Regina emerged a few minutes later freshly washed and wrapped in a towel. She looked at Emma who was still grinning to herself. She chuckled and shook her head as Emma watched her walk over to her dresser and pull out a hairdryer; she switched it on and sat at the end of the bed drying her hair. Emma crawled up behind her and wrapped her arms around Regina, planting her lips on Regina’s neck and kissing it lightly. 

“Have I ever told you how sexy you are?” Emma said, feeling quite confident.

Regina chuckled lightly, turning her head to look at Emma. “You are only saying that because you’ve never seen anyone else naked before”

“I have seen my fair share of boobs but yours are by far the best I have ever seen.”

Emma eared a light smack on the arm from Regina who chuckled at Emma’s cockiness. 

“Oh where, oh where, did my sweet innocent pilot go?!” Regina said in a mock dramatic voice. 

“I believe it was between my orgasm and yours,” Emma said with a smirk. 

Regina loved seeing this side of Emma. She was glad that the blonde was coming out of her shell more and more. “Come on, we need to get ready and I need to get Henry to Zelena’s.” 

Henry was up already and had fed himself. Regina and Emma quickly had a cup of coffee before taking him to Zelena’s. Henry didn’t stop talking all the way there and had to convince them that he needed to bring his spaceship. So between the three of them, they managed to lug it all to Zelena’s place. Henry knocked on the door and as soon as Zelena answered it. The three of them piled in before Zelena could welcome them in, and put the stuff on the living room floor. 

“Come in...please, put it right over there,” Zelena said sarcastically. 

Regina looked at her and smiled apologetically. “He wouldn’t be quiet about it until we let him bring it.”

Zelena sighed knowing this meant that she would become a part of the spaceship creation too. Sure she loved her nephew, but she hated having sticky hands. 

Henry went to put the rest of his things in the guest room. Zelena was looking at Emma and Regina up and down. It creeped the pair of them out.

“What?” Regina said exasperatedly. 

Zelena smirked at them. “You two finally did it, didn't you?” 

“How the hell...” Regina asked, thinking that maybe her sister had some kind of weird sex detector or something.

“Because this one has been wearing a shit-eating grin since the two of you came through the door,” Zelena said, pointing at Emma who was embarrassed. “Congratulations, Pilot, you finally parked your ship! But you best keep it parked there for a while.” 

“What's that supposed to mean?” Regina said in a defensive tone. 

Zelena chuckled at her. “It means, little sis, that your lady boner needs to be tamed, a lot.” 

Regina exclaimed, “Must you be so vulgar!!!”

“It’s who I am!” Zelena told her with a grin. 

Regina looked at Emma, who was turning even redder. Regina grimaced. She knew this would happen; she should have expected it.

“Anyway, just try to be a decent role model for my son.” She shoved the rest of Henry's stuff into Zelena’s arms, then grabbed Emma and made their way to the door before Zelena could say anything more embarrassing. “We need to hurry off because liftoff is in an hour.”

Emma nodded then shouted. “Henry! Quick, come hug me goodbye before your aunt scars me forever.” 

Henry emerged from his room. “What did she say now?” He asked in a sassy tone, which made the three adults laugh.

“Nothing sweety, just remember to do as she says, not as she does,” Regina told him gently. She was a brilliant aunty but sometimes she forgot herself and let the odd rude comment slip. 

Henry hugged Emma and Regina goodbye a little sad to see them go. Once the goodbyes had been said, Emma and Regina left and made their way to the meeting room where they would meet with the crew and Captain George before they left on their mission. 

In the room, the whole crew was there buzzing with excitement. Finally, Captain George arrived and sat down at the head of the table. 

“Hello crew Baelfire. So, we have researched more into the ship that had been following you and we believe it to be an enemy ship who was trying to capture you. You all need to be on high alert out there. I trust that you will get the job done, seeming as if you are the best crew we have.” 

He gave them a once over, then got up and left.

“Well, that was ...brief,” Ruby said, not knowing what else to say. 

“Yes, I mean, what was the point in us all being here?” Ariel added with a frown.

“Wasting my time.” Jefferson said in a joking manner. The rest of the crew all laughed in agreeance. 

Regina stood up. “Come on then, crew, let's get going. We have asses to kick.” 

Regina was the first to walk out the door, and the rest of the crew followed. They made their way towards the ship dock chatting excitedly about their mission, except Pan who stayed back and followed them. Their new replacements, Anna and Ashley, seemed to be fitting in well with the rest of the crew. In Emma's opinion, Maleficent and Cruella going was the best thing that happened to their crew. Even Ursula and Hook seem to fit in with them better now.

When they all reached the ship, Regina turned around and faced her crew. "I just wanted to tell you all how proud I am to be your Captain. I know it's been pretty rough so far but this is our time to shine. I want to officially welcome our new members to the Baelfire.” Everyone turned to Anna and Ashley, waving at them patting them on the shoulder, and making some whoops and cheers. Regina put her arms up to quiet them. “Now, we have a mission to get too." Regina turned around and led everyone on board to the ship.

Emma leaned into Ruby and August and said in a low tone, "She's been practicing that all week,” Emma told them with a chuckle. They chuckled too. 

When aboard, everyone beelined to their bunks, putting away their personal belongings. Emma stayed behind, standing shyly as she waited for Regina and her to be alone. Regina smirked at her, walked up to her, and took her hand, leading her to the Captain’s room. 

“Are you sure? I can put my stuff back in my bunk,” Emma said. 

Regina sighed and shook her head before taking Emma’s stuff and placing it on the bed next to her own. She then cupped Emma’s face in her hands. “Honey, stop worrying so much. The crew knows that we are together. There is no need to hide or be self-conscious anymore. We are your family now,” Regina told her in a quiet, reassuring voice. 

Emma nodded and pulled Regina into a hug. She was glad she finally knew where she belonged. Her entire life she had been looking for that place and finally, now that she found it, it was better than she had ever expected it to be. 

Once Emma had collected herself, she and Regina went to join the rest of the crew in the control room. They took their seats and made sure to do their checks. 

“Okay everyone, I would like you all to begin getting ready to take off,” Regina commanded once she saw everyone had finished their checks. “Okay on my count 10, 9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1...” 

Emma and Ariel slowly guided the ship out safely from the port. Once they were safely outside the base perimeters, they set the speed and coordinates to their mission location. From there, they were to follow and protect a small fleet of ships into a heavily guarded area in hopes of encountering the ship that had been following them before. Those watching the radars were on high alert.

It took no time at all for them to reach their coordinates. Graham hailed the captain of the main ship as soon as they arrived. “Baelfire to the Bluefairy, we have arrived. Please confirm you have received this message, over.” 

After a few moments, they received a reply. “Hello, Baelfire this is the Bluefairy we have received your message over,” A voice said through his monitor. 

“We think our best move is to buckle down for the night and head off in the morning. Are you comfortable with this plan? Over...” Graham asked, relaying what Regina had told him.

The crew responded quickly. “Yes, sounds like a good plan. Reconvened tomorrow, seven sharp. Over and out.” 

Regina nodded at Graham, and then addressed her crew. “Okay, we shall call it a night crew. I want to see you all up and ready at six tomorrow.” 

Regina stood, signaling to Emma to place the ship into sleep and camouflage mode. 

The crew got up and made their way to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Emma didn’t leave with them, and neither did Regina. 

“Wanna grab something to eat and snuggle up in your room?” Emma asked Regina. 

“I couldn’t think of anything else I would rather do.” Emma got up from her seat and walked over to Regina who looked tired. Emma knew how she felt. She took hold of Regina’s hand; Regina squeezed her hand as she stood up and let Emma lead her out of the control room. 

When they joined the others in the kitchen, they didn’t even think about the fact that they were still holding hands. Most of the crew noticed and smiled at each other. 

Ruby was the first to say something. “I know you're probably going to hate me for saying this but you two are so damn cute!” Ruby had her arm around Mulan, whose side smiled in agreeance. Regina just glared at Ruby. 

“She is right, love. You too are rather… adorable,” Hook said which made both of them turn to him, shocked. 

“Agreed,” Robin also said, which made Regina sigh as her head fell in defeat. 

“How have I come from being one of the toughest captains to my entire crew calling me things like adorable?” The crew chuckled at her comment. 

“Come on, grumpy, let's get you some food and get you to bed,” Emma said which made the crew laugh harder. Regina stared daggers at her. Emma could tell Regina wasn't really angry at her. She had seen anger on this woman's face many times and it was scarier than that. Emma guided her to choose her dinner, and then they left to their now shared room. 

Regina immediately fell onto the bed. Emma placed the food in the middle of it and went to sit on her side.

“I always forget how tiring this is,” Regina told her. Emma wiggled a little closer and put her arm out so Regina could snuggle into it. 

“It’s okay we can get an early night tonight,” Emma told her as Regina tucked herself further into Emma’s side. 

Regina took a fry off the plate. “You know these fry things aren't bad. I always wonder why everyone loves them so much, but I think I'm starting to get it.” 

“Yeah, they are pretty tasty!” Emma ate some fries. 

Before they knew it, they finished their food, and immediately got ready for bed before they knew it. They were both out like a light. 

The next morning they were awoken by a loud knocking on the door. It was Ruby shouting.

“You two up? It’s nearly six!” 

Regina bolted awake and looked over to Emma who had opened a lazy eye. 

“Oh, crap we forgot to set the alarm! Thank you Ruby we will be out soon!” Regina yelled. She looked to Emma and she was still lying down, unmoving. She gave her a shake. “Get up Emma we need to get dressed!” 

Emma groaned, but sat up slowly. Regina knew the only way for Emma to wake fully was coffee. So whilst Emma was doing her best to get ready in her sleepy state, Regina got ready quickly, telling Emma she would meet her in the control room. From there she rushed to the kitchen to get a coffee and set it next to Emma’s controls. She took her seat and a few minutes later Emma bumbled in, still half asleep.

“Hello sleepy head, your coffee is waiting for you,” Regina greeted her. 

Emma walked towards her and kissed Regina’s temple, sighing in relief at the sight of the coffee. She took her first sip, sitting down, and leaned her head against the back of her chair. “So good...perfect.” She spun around in her chair and lipped “thank you” to Regina, which made Regina smile and blush. The rest of the crew either giggled or rolled their eyes at their continued display of cuteness.

Their meeting with Bluefairy was on time. They discussed what their best course of action was. It was a brief meeting, as they both Captains were on the same page. 

Emma and Ariel were to follow behind the fleet. They were to remain camouflaged until Regina gave further instructions. They watched as a fleet of small battleships flew toward the enemy's area. They kept a low profile until their camouflage was compromised by a stray missile. The slight blip was spotted on the enemy’s radar. More missiles started coming in their direction and all hell broke loose. The crew waited, however, for Regina’s command. She tried to hold back as long as she could. While remaining camouflage, she tried to get the Baelfire to reposition themselves to hide somewhere else, but there were too many missiles. When a missile came within meters of the ship, Regina realized they could not outrun enemy fire. She finally yelled out the command to let down the camouflage and to engage. 

Everyone went on high alert. Mulan was the first to shoot and the others followed almost flawlessly. Before long, it appeared that they jumped in just in time; they had managed to save the entire fleet and no one even had any serious injuries. It seemed an impossible thing as the crew of the Baelfire took in everything around them as they assessed the damage–there was so much debris everywhere from parts of all the ships, including their own. All the Captains had the crew remain on alert for about an hour to see if any enemy reinforcements appeared, but nothing appeared. 

Regina commanded Graham to open communications. "Baelfire to Bluefairy. Captain Mills has given the all-clear, we are free to move forward and proceed with the mission. Over.”

"Affirmative Baelfire, we will continue with the mission," the Bluefairy reported back.

The whole fleet began to move forward, so Emma and Ariel piloted the Baelfire to behind the fleet as before. 

Then out of nowhere a crackle came through the radio. 

"Storybrook's Baelfire, this is the Enchanted Forest talking...we come in peace," said a female voice through the radio speaker. The crew turned and faced Regina, looking for answers, but she was just as clueless as the rest of them. She had never heard of a ship called “The Enchanted Forest” but the females' voice sounded familiar; she knew she had heard it before.

"Emma, Ariel, stop the ship, we need to figure out who is communicating with us. Graham, hail the Bluefairy and ask them if they heard the same transmission," Regina commanded as her mind raced to place a face to that familiar voice. As Graham waited for a response, Regina said to him, "Graham I need you to find the frequency of that transmission and track where it was coming from ASAP. Robin, Anna, assist Graham." 

As they worked on figuring out how to contact this mysterious ship, the Bluefair said that they didn’t receive any transmission from an Enchanted Forest. Regina, as well as the rest of the crew were perplexed. Nevertheless, the crew pulled their resources together to track the frequency of the mysterious message. Regina couldn’t place the voice, and she grew impatient. It seemed like an eternity before Graham was able to open a channel, which in fact was only fifteen minutes. 

“I got it! Captain, I have an open channel. You can respond anytime,” Graham said. 

Regina nodded, and quickly opened the channel. "This is the Captain of the Baelfire, may I ask who this is?" 

"Regina? Is that you? I can't believe you are the Captain of the Baelfire. I always knew you'd do well," the female voice said with much affection. 

It was then that it clicked in Regina’s mind who it was, although it was impossible. She didn’t want to ask, because it could alarm Emma, so she used her code name. "Mary Margaret?" 

"Yes! It's me...I can't believe after all these years you're here. We need to talk; it's a matter of urgency. Is this line secure?" 

Regina looked around the room at her crew. Everyone’s eyes were locked on her, faces full of curiosity and concern. If “Mary Margaret” asked for a secure line, then it was probably best. She switched the call to her headset, “You are now. Give me a moment.” She put the transmission on mute, and then addressed the crew. "You are all dismissed from your posts until I call you back. Pilots, put the ship on auto.” She then stood up and took her conversation to her quarters room and locked the door.

Emma wanted to follow Regina because her face was full of concern and stress. But she realized that this was a moment she needed to think of Regina as her Captain, not her girlfriend. She just didn’t think she would be hit with that reality so soon. 

"Hey Emma, come hang with us." Ruby reached for her hand, noticing the lost look on her face. 

"Sure…do you know who Regina is talking too?" 

"Sorry, no idea. But it seems serious. But that’s the kind of excitement that happens when on a mission! Don’t worry about your girlfriend,” Ruby teased. Emma grimaced. “Instead, have something to eat, refill your coffee." 

Regina rushed into her room as soon as she could, not wanting to lose the transmission. The anticipation of talking to someone who claimed to be Snow was giving her anxiety; she seldom lost her cool like this. 

"Snow? We are now on a secure line and talking in private. I am in my quarters.”

"Good, because there are things I need to tell you about Rumple that will shock you to your very core." 

"Snow, I'd rather stay out of it. I don’t doubt what that man is capable of, but..." Regina told her. However, she got Regina’s mind racing at what he was up to.

"It’s too late. Everyone who works for him is ALREADY involved, even if they don’t know the details of his plan. You may think you know, based on what he told you, but it's all lies. He is the enemy; this mission, your supposed “enemy,” they are not dangerous. They are only defending themselves because we are the aggressors. He has done this before. He's already destroyed three planets and their entire races. He is hungry for power, resources, and dominance. He needs to be stopped!" Snow finally said with pleading desperation in her voice. 

Regina never really questioned the missions she had been sent on over the years, and what little detail they had been told. Maybe it was time to start questioning everything. 

Regina replied, "Before we start anything else. I need to tell you something. Emma, your daughter...she's on board with me right now, she's our pilot." 

The line was dead for a good few moments. Before Snow spoke. "Emma...I…I…can I talk to her?" Snow said in a soft, quiet voice of disbelief. 

"I need to discuss more with you first. For starters how did you disappear and who else is there with you?" Regina began to wonder who else from the old crew was still alive. 

Snow gave a little laugh. "The how is a long story. For now, let’s just say we weren’t happy with our job. But most of the old Baelfire crew are here. David is here with me and also there's Belle, Merida, Elsa, Aurora, Tink, Gideon, Merlin. Gina, could I please talk to my daughter?" Snow pleaded.

Regina paused. She was hesitant to spring this on Emma, especially without a clear explanation. But she knew if she had been separated from Henry for so long, there would only be one thing she would want to do–talk to her son. "Okay." Regina left the channel open, took her headset off, and went to go find Emma. 

She found her in the kitchen with the rest of the crew. 

"Pilot, could I have a private word for a moment, please?" 

Emma gave her a confused look, noticing the serious tone Regina gave her. She immediately walked towards Regina. The rest of the crew made ‘woo’ sounds, as if to say 'you're in trouble;' but Emma saw the look in Regina’s eyes. She ignored her crewmates and followed Regina. 

They went to Regina’s room. This still didn’t put Emma at ease. Regina didn’t talk to her at all, just walked in front of her. When she entered, she looked around trying to get a clue, and noticed a headset abandoned on the bed. She looked at Regina who was now facing her. 

"I need to tell you something about the woman who messaged us earlier. It might be a bit of a surprise." 

Emma, impatient, didn’t wait for Regina. "Just tell me Regina." The seriousness on Regina’s face was making her uncomfortable.

"So...the woman that messaged us is your mother, Snow White." 

Emma stared at her expressionless for a few moments, trying to comprehend what Regina just said. Was this a joke? Her head started going fuzzy. 

Regina saw that Emma started to breath rapidly as her face slowly showed shock. She walked towards Emma, “Emma? Did you hear what I said?” 

Emma slowly shook her head from side to side. She put her arm out behind her, as if looking for a chair. Regina saw she needed to sit down and led her to the bed. Emma practically fell onto the bed. She was quiet for a few moments whilst her head worked out how to feel and respond to the news. 

"She's…she's…my mom?" Emma said and looked at the head set. "My mom is alive? How...why hasn't she tried to contact me before?" 

"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with your godfather. She's still on the line if you want to talk to her?" 

"I don't know, I'm kinda nervous. I mean my mom. I don't even remember what she looks like in person," Emma said, her voice shaking slightly. 

"Everything will be okay," Regina said and lifted the headset off the bed giving it to Emma. 

The blonde looked at it cautiously, then looked up to Regina who nodded at her in encouragement. She took her and slid it over her ears. 

"Emma is that you?" Snow's voice came through the headset. She sounded happy but wary. 

"Yeah, it's me." Emma said in a quite nervous voice. 

"I'm so glad to finally speak to you. Emma I'm so sorry me and your father disappeared but it became unsafe for us to return. You are on the Baelfire, and as a pilot, Regina told me. I am so proud of you sweetheart.” Snow said a little fast because of how excited she was. 

Emma didn’t know how to reply. She was taking in the sound of hearing her mom’s voice for the first time and trying not to cry. “But why did you leave me?” 

Snow paused. She sounded like she was choking back tears. “I haven’t had a chance to tell Regina the whole story yet, because I was so anxious to hear you first. But I’ll tell her what I told her. We had to leave because of Rumple. He isn’t what he seems, all of this isn’t what it seems. We discovered the truth, and we couldn’t come back and possibly put you in danger, so we escaped. Faked the accident to give us time to figure out how to stop him.” 

Emma recalled all the terrible things that she had witnessed Rumple doing. She wasn’t surprised there was more to it. "It's okay I get it. From what I've learnt and witnessed from Rumple over the years I understand." 

"But Rumple has found out we are alive, and I am sure he plans on using you to get to us somehow. We need you and your crew to come to our base. It's safe here I promise." Snow said to her. 

"It's not really up to me, it's up to the Captain," Emma replied, not wanting to make a decision that she knew was Regina's to make. Emma looked at Regina who looked unsure. She handed the brunette the headset. She sat and listened as Snow convinced Regina to land on their base. It took some time but finally Regina agreed to it. 

Next thing Emma knew, Regina was coordinating the Baelfire crew to head to the coordinates of Snow’s base. Emma felt her hands sweating with nerves. She didn’t know how to feel. This is what she worked her entire life for, right? But now that the opportunity was there she wondered why she felt different that she thought. 

They slowly approached the base and Emma and Ariel flew the spaceship safely into a marked out landing place. Regina told everyone when it was safe to leave. The whole crew was excited, except Emma who stayed stuck to her seat. 

Regina noticed the frozen blonde. She walked up behind her and put her arms around her shoulders. "No matter what happens I will be there for you." Regina whispered into her ear. 

Emma took a deep breath. "I'm terrified. I'm not even sure what to say to her or what to call them. I mean it's my parents but…I haven't seen them since I was a baby. They are strangers to me." Emma said in a quiet voice. 

Regina kissed her cheek. "I know your parents and I also know that they can't wait to meet you. It's going to be strange for them too, but hiding in the ship isn't going to change that. Sometimes we don't have any other choice but to step into the unknown and hope that it turns out okay." What Regina told her was a lesson she had recently only learnt herself, with help from a very special blonde. 

Emma let out her breath she was holding and kissed Regina. She stood up and took Regina's hand and the brunette led her out of the ship. 

The first thing Emma noticed was how run down everything looked. She could tell that they were in the process of rebuilding the abandoned buildings. The one that stood out the most was a large brick building that was clearly the head offices. The crew had joined a group of people standing near the building. Regina stopped in front of Emma who looked at the brunette's brown eyes. 

"It's going to be fine, I'll be next to you and it's your parents Emma, they love you no matter what," Regina told her hoping that it would make the blonde feel a little better. 

Emma nodded and swallowed hard. "Let's do this." They took off towards the group, Regina's hand still tightly grasped in her own. 

Once they joined the group, a woman with short black hair and Emma's chin walked up to her with a tall blond haired man beside her. Emma knew instantly that these people were her parents.


	27. chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

"Hello, Emma I'm so glad to finally get to see you," Snow said as she pulled Emma into a hug. Emma awkwardly hugged her back, confused as to what was happening. 

"Hey, kid, long time no see. Good to know you take after your mother. The crew just told us you guys beat our high score," David said in a cheery tone, very proud of his daughter. 

Emma just smiled shyly and nodded. "Hey, umm…" Emma wasn't sure what to call them; of course, they were her parents but she barely knew them. Regina put her hand on her arm knowing Emma needed her support. 

Snow looked at Regina's hand as she squeezed Emma’s arm, then Emma looked at Regina in a certain way that Snow noticed was out of the ordinary. "Um, we should be moving on. There’s a lot to do. We thought we would all have a meeting about what I told you and Regina." 

Regina nodded and followed Snow and David towards the crew. 

"Hey, Emma, this place is awesome," August said, catching up with her. Ruby followed behind.

"Yeah, it is pretty amazing," Emma said vaguely. Truthfully, she hadn't had time to take in her surroundings much because she was so focused on meeting her mother and father. 

Ruby wanted to be there for Emma, noticing she seemed out of sorts. She gave Regina a look, took Emma’s arm, and then said to August, "You guys go ahead, I just need to talk to Emma a second." Regina nodded at Snow and David that all was ok, so the rest of them continued on into a large building.

The two of them slowed their pace as Ruby stopped Emma just outside the building. "Emma, I know who they are and I want you to know you don't need to be okay with it straight away. I mean I can't talk for August, but if I were to find my parents now I think it would take some time to get used to." Ruby was glad she stopped Emma because Emma looked as though she was going to pass out. "Come on let's find somewhere to sit."

Ruby led Emma to a more secluded spot not too far away. Emma hadn't said a word while Ruby had led her over. Ruby sat on a wooden bench and Emma joined her. They were quiet for a few moments while Ruby let Emma try to calm down a little.   
She knew the blonde needed a little time to process everything before she would talk. 

Emma's head was spinning as she tried to sort through her thoughts. On the one hand, she had found her parents, something she has wanted since she could remember. On the second hand, they were strangers and were what she had grown up to perceive as the enemy. 

She sighed heavily and put her head in her hands. She felt Ruby put her arm around her. Emma flopped into Ruby's side. 

"What do I do, what do I say," Emma whispered in a tight emotional voice. 

"Look, Em, whatever you feel is the right thing to do we will all support you. Except for Pan, who is a complete ass, but the rest of us are here for you. May I make a suggestion? How about we go to this meeting to see what they have to say and after we will get the crew together and chill out." Ruby knew some time with her friends might help Emma feel safer. Emma nodded, liking the sound of Ruby's plan. "Come on then, Pilot, we have a meeting to get to. Also, do your parents know about you and Regina?"

Emma laughed. "We haven’t had a chance to have that talk. But I have no plans on hiding that fact. If my parents don’t 100% approve, I don’t care. Nothing they could say would stop us being together." Emma got the impression that her mother and Regina had a rocky past, but she had no intention of letting that get in the way; it had nothing to do with their relationship. 

Emma felt better so she and Ruby made their way to the huge building and walked through the big stiff metal doors. Just inside was a man wearing a tweed blazer, a shirt and tie. He looked kind of like one of Emma's old professors. 

"Hello, you must be Emma and Ruby. I'm Archie. Nice to meet you both. If you follow me I will take you to the meeting." His tone was light, soft, and friendly. He put the women at ease, and they smiled at him. He guided them to the room where the meeting was. The inside looked a little more shabby than the meeting room they were used to, but oddly, a whole lot cozier. There was a coffee maker in the corner and an assortment of cakes. The table, instead of being rectangular like Emma expected, was round. She found that she preferred it. It symbolized unity and equality for her. 

Emma took a seat next to Regina and Ruby sat next to her. The crew chatted amongst themselves whilst Snow passed out drinks for everyone. Regina placed a hand on Emma's knee and the blonde looked at her. 

"Are you okay?" The brunette asked her. 

Emma nodded and placed her hand on top of Regina's. "I'm getting there. I'm just glad that I have such good friends. If it wasn't for them and you and I would have probably run by now. I don't do well in these kinds of situations." 

Regina nodded in understanding; that was how Emma dealt with her emotions when they became too much.

Snow made it a point to observe her daughter and Regina closely. She confirmed that they were close; and the way they looked and talked to each other was not the way she knew Regina the Captain to be. In fact she had never seen Regina so soft. She didn’t know her daughter very well, but the Regina she knew, it worried her. David, in turn, observed his wife watching Emma and Regina. He too noticed their closeness, and he could see on his wife’s face that she was struggling to deal with their daughter's relationship with Regina. 

David approached Snow and told her quietly, "Honey, I know it's strange but maybe Regina's changed. It's been a long time since you two have seen each other. Back then you were barely adults. Perhaps for now we let it be. We don't want to chase her away, we've only just found her." 

Snow looked at David not changing her concerned look. "She may have changed David but at what cost? I can't forget what she did. I know it wasn't entirely her fault but… it doesn't change the fact that she's dangerous." She knew she needed to bite her tongue; nothing good ever came with poking her nose in Regina's business. 

She took her seat next to David. She took a small sip of her coffee before clearing her throat to catch the attention of the baelfire crew. They all turned to look at her. She smiled nervously. 

"I bet you are all wondering why we have made us gather here. It is only right that I tell you all we know about Rumple and his plan. It wasn't long after we left for our last mission on the Baelfire that we found out what he was really up to. He had sent us on a mission to infiltrate this planet, but when we got here we found it was just filled with other humans. The entire area was run down and they were living off scraps they found. There was a young woman in charge named Elsa. She approached us a few moments after our arrival and explained to us that Rumple had used his power to destroy as much of the planet as possible because they were his competition to the power resources he sells. She showed us the struggling families and the orphaned children and we decided we need to stay. We managed to fake our deaths and the Baelfire was sent back to the SRDP before we could do anything. We have been trying to contact as many people as we can but sadly we haven't been able to until now. Now I know you all might be thinking that this is a load of lies but I'm pleading with you to listen to us and the people of this planet. He is lying to all of you, he is using you to expand his business and destroy his competitors. He is a power-hungry monster and will do anything to get his way.” Snow was hoping that they would realize that they were speaking the truth. 

Emma always had a gift for telling when someone was lying to her. It had helped her a lot over the years. Right now she knew that every word her mother spoke was the truth. It scared her to the bone to admit it, but her Godfather was a genocidal, power-hungry demon. She looked around at her crew and saw all of their unsure faces. She felt she needed to share with the others so that they would trust her parents.

“I believe you, I know what Rumple is like, and his plans and ideas come first; the slightest sniff of failure or anyone getting in the way of those plans ends in him eliminating you by firing or worse. I think we should help Snow and David and try to stop him.” 

“I’m not sure about this Emma. If we disappear on Rumple, he won’t let us go. You are right, he doesn’t suffer failure. But I think he will come looking for us harder than he did Snow and David, especially for you–you know more about his company than most of his employers.” 

“Regina, I think we will come up with a way that he wouldn’t suspect a thing,” Emma said to her. “We need to try our best to stop him from hurting people.” 

“I’m with Emma. Sorry, Captain, but if Mr.Gold is killing people for his selfish gain we need to stop him.” Ruby did not like Rumple anyway; he was horrid to August and her growing up. He would torture them and treat them like prisoners. Once he realized that they weren’t up for playing his games he put them in charge of Emma and although neither of them would take that back, they both couldn’t pass up getting back at the man that took their childhood away. 

“I'm in too! Got to stick with my little sister,” August added with a cheesy grin. “We got your back kid.” 

Ruby’s and Graham's approval helped the others decide, because they all began to say they were ready to join them in their mission to take down Rumple. 

Regina looked at her crew and their confidence in joining this rebellion. She can’t say she was against it. “Okay, fine, I’m in. But first I want to go see my sister and son. I will not just disappear on them.” 

Snow was happy to hear that they were getting support. But she caught Regina’s slight directed at her and David. For it, she scowled at Regina, who didn't seem the least bit concerned that she had offended Snow. "What's that supposed to mean? Regina, we had no choice. These people were suffering, we knew the truth, and we couldn’t go back or we would have all been in danger." Snow said back bitingly.

Regina smirked and looked Snow dead in the eye. "So saving a load of people you don't know from Rumple was more important than coming home to the little one you had left in his care? Yeah, I understand. You’re selfish need to feel like a hero made you leave behind a baby with the exact man who ruined yours, mine, and many other people's lives!" 

Snow may be her girlfriend's mother, but it didn't mean she had to like her. Nothing had changed even though she thought Snow had been dead. Regina very much disliked the woman, and now that she knew she was alive, and why she faked her death, she disliked her even more for her abandonment of Emma. Snow’s excuse made perfect sense, but it still angered her. She wasn’t sure how Emma was feeling, but as a mother, she couldn't even think about leaving her family behind. 

Emma wasn't sure how to handle the confrontation. On one hand, she agreed with Regina, she didn't understand why her parents left her there, but on the other hand, her parents knew that getting her would put her and this planet in danger. 

"Just be quiet, both of you! It doesn't matter what happened, the past is the past. What matters now is that we take Rumple down before he ruins more lives. Regina, we will go get Henry and Zelena. Ruby will also bring Granny because she should know too. Now if you two are both done fighting over things that can't be controlled could we please move on to making a plan on what we do next." 

Emma shocked them all into silence.

"Yes of course, Emma, well said," David said as he took out a tablet. "We've been doing our best to track Rumple but then the issue is he is very secretive and hides most of his bigger plans on a different system. Our best plan would be just to find someone willing to go onto the inside and find out what he is doing. The problem is he thinks we are all dead and we've never found anyone willing to go along with the plan." David said knowing that what they wanted to do was risky and understood why no one was willing to put the self's forward for it. "So we need to work something else out." 

"Well, our tech team can see what they can come up with. Give me some time alone to discuss this with my crew, if you don’t mind. I hope we can come up with a plan, because I want to head out tomorrow. I’d like to fetch my family before we start anything," Regina said.

"Yes, of course. We will leave and let you discuss this. Archie will show you to your rooms when you are done. I would like you to meet the rest of the crew tomorrow." Snow said as she stood up from her seat. "Good night and thank you all for listening to us, and most importantly, believing us." 

Regina waited for Snow and David to exit the room before addressing her crew. 

"So now we've heard the story: what do you all think we should do?" Regina asked them all. 

"I think we should help. I knew that man was up to something," Anna said and everyone nodded in agreement. "I mean why else would he have a space army school for under 16 years old. Clearly, he is very power-hungry" 

"Ok, then it seems unanimous. But is everyone okay to head back home to get loved ones, as I am, and Ruby?” 

"We have your back Regina," August told her. 

"Okay, it's settled. We will reconvene outside of the Baelfire at seven a.m. sharp," Regina said she was very grateful she had such a good-hearted crew. They all nodded. "Now I'm guessing you are all pretty tired so you are all free to go." 

Archie showed them all their rooms; there were a few twin rooms and double rooms so between them they figured out where each one was staying. 

Emma and Regina requested a room together just for them. As they settled into their room, Regina pulled out a book to read, as Emma sat doodling on a piece of paper. Regina couldn't help but notice how fixated Emma seemed. 

"Hey, Honey, what are you drawing?" Regina asked her quietly not wanting to startle the focused blonde. 

Emma looked back at Regina and smiled. She picked up the piece of paper and showed it to Regina. It was a drawing of Regina and Henry. 

"I have a habit of drawing when I'm anxious about something. You two were the first thing that popped into my head. Sorry, it isn't a great drawing, I'm a little out of practice." Emma said as she walked over to the bed where Regina was sitting.

"Emma this is amazing. I never knew you could draw, Henry would love to see this." Regina told her as she studied the drawing. She couldn't believe how good the drawing was; it caught hers and Henry's likeness almost exactly.

"Ah well he can keep it, it was most likely just going to end up in with the rest of my drawing–kept in a box, hidden from Rumple. He didn’t approve of things that kept me from my school work. I drew him a picture when I was a kid and he burnt it right in front of me. It kinda scared me, so I stopped drawing. But once I realized he didn't care about me, just my academic achievements, I revolted and started drawing again. August and Ruby taught me a little too, they even used to sneak paint in for me," Emma said, smiling at the memory of sitting in her old room drawing flowers and sometimes even the ships when she was feeling a little more ambitious. 

"Well this is amazing, Emma, I bet Henry would love to learn how to draw from you too. You should see his drawing of Zelena for an eight-year-old. It was pretty impressive but the best part was Zelena's reaction; she couldn’t get over the fact that for her hair he had just scribbled a lot of lines on." Regina chuckling at the thought of her sister freaking out that her hair was a mess. 

Emma laughed with her. She needed that. She then realized how tired she was. "I think I'm going to stop for tonight. I need to sleep. Mind if I snuggle in with you?" Emma wiggled in closer to Regina who chuckled and put her arm around the blonde who took that as an invitation to rest her head on the brunette's chest. "Ahh, comfy at last," Emma said as a long sigh. She wrapped her arm around Regina's waist as the brunette started to play with the blonde's silky hair. It didn't take long for them to drop off to sleep.


	28. chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

The next morning the entire crew was up early, in the control room, and ready to go. Regina was proud of her crew and glad that she could trust them. 

"Morning everyone. I'm really happy to see you all here and I can't express how much it means to Emma and me that you are willing to trust us. I know the past few days have been stressful and full of unexpected turns but I just wanted to take a moment to say how proud I am of all of you." Regina smiled at her crew, and they smiled back at her; however, Regina noticed that Pan did not smile. He was an odd one, so perhaps that was just his way; he never spoke to anyone and he was constantly wearing a somber expression. So far he hadn't caused any harm, and at this point, she hoped that he was on board. 

Regina gave the command and the ship took flight. Almost immediately the communications system came to life. 

"Base to Baelfire, please explain your long absence. Over." Most of the crew turned to Regina looking a little panicked. 

Regina took the message. "Baelfire to base, sorry for the inconvenience. We had an issue with the engines and had to stop for the day for maintenance. We were hit by a projectile and had to get it fixed before further damage was done. Over. " Regina communicated, calmly. 

"Base to Baelfire, good to hear you are all doing okay now. What is your estimated arrival time? Over. " 

"We hope to land by 0000." 

"We will have people waiting to let you in. Over and out." 

"Okay crew our plan is simple, we follow normal procedures. We make our statements, go to the meeting, and then once that is all finished I want you all to go to your rooms, pack, and whatever else you need to do, and be ready to leave that night. Ruby and August, you are in charge of ensuring everyone is ready on time, and who we need to sneak on the ship." Deep down, Regina hoped her plan wouldn't backfire and put the whole team in trouble. 

"Sure thing, Captain!" 

Emma was nervous. She too hoped the plan went smoothly. She had a nagging feeling something was going to go wrong but she couldn't voice her feelings because she knew it wouldn't help the feelings of the rest of her crew who all wore nervous faces too. 

Before they knew it they were back at base and entering the ship. The ship landed and was taken to its place where there was a group of people ready to refill the tank and do maintenance. 

Just before they left the ship, Regina told them, "Here we are. Remember, everyone just remain calm, say nothing to anyone about the plan and we should all be fine." 

As they exited the ship, they were greeted by the maintenance team who looked a little worse for wear and overworked. Emma stayed next to Regina, feeling the need to be next to her after the last few earth-shaking days. 

The team made their way over to the meeting room where the head Captain was waiting for them. A large smile on his face. He was happy about their recent successful Mission. 

"Hello, team Baelfire! I'm glad you have made it back in one piece. The Blue Fairy got back just before you and gave us a run over of what happened on the battlefield and I must say I'm very proud of you. Especially you Regina, you have led your crew well. I would all appreciate a short report on what happened and a small discussion and then you are all more than welcome to go," said Captain George to them as they took their seats. 

"Thank you, Captain. I am very proud of my crew also, they performed rather well and managed to keep a cool head in a pretty intense situation." Regina was glad that they were getting recognition for a job well done but it didn't change the fact that they were going to leave that night. 

"I agree, Regina. You may all write your reports and I shall be back in an hour to read them." He said standing up and shaking all of their hands before he left the room.

They all knuckled down and began writing. It was a strange silence that hung over the room; although they were focusing on writing, one could feel the tension about what they were hiding. Regina started to watch Pan closely. She didn’t trust his lack of reaction; it was more than he just being his usual weird self. But she didn’t want to ask him anything directly. She feared he would make trouble faster if he knew she was on to him. If he was going to rat them out, she would rather watch him closely and hopefully stop him in the act. 

An hour later all of the reports were written and triple checked before Captain George came back. He entered the room broadly and took his seat. Regina handed him the papers and he scanned through them all. 

"Well, I must say I'm surprised that everyone survived. Normally in a fight such as this one, there is at least one casualty. To have none is extraordinary." He said as he read through the last report. "Your reports all meet standard so you are free to go." He told with a small smile. 

"Thank you, Sir.” Regina turned to her crew. “Team, you may start your free time." 

Regina took Emma with her, not only because she was her girlfriend, but also to talk to Zelena and try to convince her to come with them. She hoped that Emma would be able to convince her sister faster than her; siblings could sometimes have a deaf ear to the wishes of each other. Especially since Zelena loved her job, and had been working on the ship longer than Regina had been serving. 

Regina knocked on her sister's door and waited for the redhead to answer. She noticed Emma fidgeting beside her nervously. She took hold of Emma's hand just as Zelena opened the door. 

"S’up sis, and her miss. How was the mission?" Zelena greeted them and welcomed them in. 

"Interesting. We have a lot to tell you, but first where is my son?" Regina asked, wondering why Henry hadn't come to see them yet. 

"He ran into the bedroom as soon as the door knocked. Something about getting his ship. That boy has been keeping me busy. He even had me putting glitter on things. I'm going to be finding it on my person for weeks. Worth it to see his cute little smile though." 

Henry came bursting out of his bedroom carrying his huge cardboard spaceship. He had been working hard on it and it showed because his entire body was covered in either paint, glue, or glitter. Regina and Emma chuckled at the sight of the sparkly, rainbow boy. 

"Mommy, Emma look I finished it!" He said and plonked it down in front of them. 

"Kid that looks awesome," Emma told him, grabbing him and pulling him in for a hug. Henry chuckled and hugged her back. 

"Momma, do you like it?" Henry asked Regina who loved seeing how proud her son was of his creation. 

"I think it's the best spaceship I have ever seen. The glitter is a very nice touch." Regina said to him and pulled him onto her lap covering herself in glitter but not caring because she had missed her son. Henry squeezed her tightly back. 

"Aunty Zelena was covered in it. I called her the glitter monster." Henry told them, making Regina chuckle and look at her sister. 

“I thought it was a pretty awesome nickname myself," Zelena said to her smirking sister. 

"Okay, Glitter Monster, mind making as a drink? I'm parched. And then we can talk about what happened on our mission after."

"Sure thing, coffee for you both?" Zelena asked them. They nodded both grateful for the caffeine they both desperately needed. 

"Me too, me too," Henry said excitedly bouncing on Regina's lap. 

"Nope, not making that mistake again," Zelena said, but then quickly realizing what she had said until it was too late. 

"You've given my son coffee!" Regina said her tone was a little tight. 

Zelena, knowing she was busted, stammered. "I mean...he begged me too, and I can't...I can't say no to his puppy dog eyes. It was a mistake though he was bouncing for hours after and wouldn't shut up about getting a dog." 

Regina shook her head. "He's been asking for one since he knew what one was. I blame your daughter for showing him. Also, if I find out he's had coffee again from you, there will be hell to pay."

"Duly noted and lesson learned, do not give the eight-year-old caffeine," Zelena said to her. "Robin never had an issue with it though."

"That's because she was usually bouncing off the walls anyway," Regina told her, remembering how hyper her niece used to be when she was little. 

"It's not her fault she was just very excitable is all," Zelena said, remembering how much of a handful her daughter was at Henry's age. She went to the kitchen and began making their drinks. 

"Emma, why do you look so sad?" Henry asked, mistaking the blonde's anxiousness. 

Emma wasn't sure how to respond so Regina intervened. "Emma has had a long week and she found out some things that have made her feel a little out of sorts. But it’s our job to make sure we help her to feel better."

Henry hugged Emma tightly, “It’s okay Emma, we will look after you.” The blonde hugged him back taking solace in his tiny embrace. No matter how upside-down her world felt right now at least she still had Regina, Henry, and her friends. 

“Thanks, Henry,” Emma said, kissing him on the head lightly. 

Zelena came back into the room carrying the coffee and a juice for Henry. She placed them on the table and sat back down. 

“So what is it you need to tell me?” Zelena asked. She had never seen her younger sister looking so lost before and she felt like Regina was trying to hide this from Emma and Henry, but Zelena knew her sister and something was off with her. 

“It’s a little complicated but we all need to get off this base and move to somewhere new,” Regina told her. 

Zelena’s face went from concerned to shocked. She was speechless whilst she tried to process what her sister had just told her. “Care to explain?” 

“On our mission, a transmission came through and it turned out to be Emma’s mother Snow.” Regina watched Zelena look more confused than she was in the beginning. 

“So you're telling me, Emma’s mother, who was believed to be dead…somehow contacted you and now you suddenly want to move?” Zelena said not quite understanding why her sister would want to move in with the woman she had told her previously that she hated. 

“We actually went to visit where she, David and all the other missing crew members are taking refuge, and what she told us has prompted the sudden move. She uncovered what Rumple is actually doing is doing–he is committing mass genocide and we’re helping him.” Regina waited for her sister to be shocked. 

Instead, Zelena let out a dark chuckle. “You're kidding right…Of course I'm aware that I'm working for a malicious monster, I have been trying to tell you that for years but you never listened to me! I even showed you evidence but you always came up with some excuse to not believe me.”

Regina remained quiet for a moment. Her sister was right. And her excuse was, what? “I know, I know...but because we haven't always had the best relationship, what I heard was you trying to make me quit. And by the time I was already in deep, you never said anything more, never gave me anymore warnings, so I really thought you were making it all up!” 

Zelena’s face fell. “No! I just didn't want you to get upset with me and stop talking with me. I honestly didn’t want you to be drawn too far into his evil plans.” Her voice expressed hurt and anger, but she was trying to remain calm. “I can’t believe you believed Snow right away...it's not like you two were ever best of friends.” 

Regina didn’t want to fight. There was really no point. She wronged her sister, clearly. Why did she believe Snow so quickly? She recalled the time Snow had to save her ship from the mists of a huge battle. They were barely friends, always getting on each other's nerves, but that day she realized that when it came to work, their personal relationship didn't matter; the safety of her crew and the other ships were more important. Being a crew was about trust, and they had each other’s backs.

“I am sorry, Zelena. I let my issues with you cloud my judgement. When it comes down to it, we are sisters, and always have each other’s backs, no matter what. But the same went for Snow and I. We might not have gotten along but there was always a line we wouldn’t cross and that was work. When it came to issues like this we told each other the truth and put our feud behind us. She found me, and without hesitation, she told me everything. We visited their base and saw with our own eyes the destruction and lies Gold has been telling...as you told me, so long ago. So, will you come with us?” 

Zelena looked at her sister, all anger falling away. “Okay, of course I will come with you, but what is your plan to get us out of this place?” Zelena asked her. 

“Well, that's where you come in. I know part of your job is working with security and maintenance. I want you to work out a way to keep them as far away from the ships as possible so we can get in and get out with no interruptions.” 

Zelena raised her eyebrows. “I mean I will do my best but I have no control of the alarm system. You need another plan for that one.” 

“Right. I’m working on that part. For now, try to pack as much stuff up as you can and stay over my place. It's closer to the ships.” Regina said she did not want to have to fetch Zelena in the middle of the night during their escape. Zelena nodded and rushed off to pack as much as she could into as little as she could. 

“Were moving mummy?” Henry asked not able to understand everything his mother had said but was able to take at least that from their conversation. 

“Sorry kid, I know it's going to be hard and you might have to leave some of your toys and things behind but it's for the greater good,” Emma told him, feeling a little bad that Henry had to be caught up in all the drama but they needed to keep him safe.

“As long as I have mommy, you and Aunty Zelena it will be okay,” Henry replied.

“Of course, honey, we wouldn’t go anywhere without each other, we’re a family,” Regina told him. She knew this was going to be hard on Henry but she couldn't help it. They needed to get out as fast they could, especially because she wasn’t 100% sure that Pan would keep their secret. She knew they needed to act fast before he had his chance to tell someone.

It wasn't long before Zelena had her things together, all they had to do was try to make it back to Regina's place without causing too much suspicion. Which was harder said than done because Zelena had packed a few too many bags. 

"I told you to pack what you needed to bring with you. How did that turn into pretty much everything you owned!" Regina snarked. 

"It's not like we're going on vacation. We're moving, I don't want to leave any of my stuff behind. I mean I compromised and left the food in the fridge and even managed to leave behind some of my clothes." 

Regina sighed heavily. There was really no time to argue. They would have to make do.

Once they got back to Regina's place they began to pack. Emma didn't have much, so she helped Henry with his things whilst Zelena gave Regina a hand. Emma guessed they weren't having the best of time however because from what she could hear Zelena was trying her best to spoil what Regina insisted was her system. 

"Zelena I'm not taking that dress. I have no use for it. I'm taking the basics and a few souvenirs. That is all!" 

"Well if you don't want it, I'll take it. It looks better on me anyway." Zelena said as she went to unzip her suitcase. Regina placed herself in the way so Zelena couldn't get to her stuff. 

"I swear if you take anything else I will leave you here," Regina said firmly, getting annoyed that her sister wouldn't take what they were doing seriously. 

“Like you have a choice,” Zelena said back to her. 

Regina frowned at her. “I don't know if you remember but I am the Captain of the ship. So what I say goes.” Regina headed for her dresser and started to rummage through it.

“Yes, because that will mean something when we are running away with a stolen ship. I think you’ll find that once we do this you will no longer be THE Captain.” Zelena replied, which made Regina mad.

“You think just because I’m leaving I will stop being in charge! Last time you were in charge my son and your daughter ended up in the medical bay after you went over my head and told my son he had superpowers!” Regina told her with a smirk. 

Zelena took in a sharp breath that showed how offended she was at Regina’s words. “I didn’t think he would take it so seriously. Robin was meant to help him out” 

“Yes because telling an eight-year-old that if he ran through walls was a very well thought out plan.” Regina made an “a-ha” look, went to her sister’s luggage, and placed a little lock on the zipper. Zelena looked at her dumbfounded.

Emma looked in the room and couldn’t help but find their argument hilarious. It reminded her of when August and Ruby argued except she wasn’t entirely sure Regina and Zelena would only use words. She decided she best go in and try to settle them down.

“Guys seriously we're meant to be packing and you two are squabbling like kids,” Emma said trying her best to seem like she had authority. It must have worked because both Regina and Zelena looked at her then hung their heads. 

“Sorry, we are both just a little stressed and this is how we deal with it,” Regina told. 

“I mean I think our time is better spent sorting things out, so, Zelena you go help Henry; he is pretty much done anyway and I’ll help Regina finish her stuff,” Emma ordered them, knowing that if she didn’t split it up now in five minutes they would be back at it. 

“Fine, I’ll help Henry,” Zelena said as she left Regina’s room. 

“At least you won’t be able to steal any of his stuff,” Regina said just loud enough for Zelena to hear it. 

Zelena yelled back, “I wouldn’t bet on that! Also, Emma, you will be sad to find that Regina is refusing to take any of her ‘toys’ with her.” Regina’s face went bright red. 

“What?!” Emma looked at Regina confused. “Toys? Like from when you were a kid?” Emma asked not understanding why Zelena would tell her that.

Regina thought Emma’s response was sweet, but she was still embarrassed. Not really wanting to explain, she whispered “ Adult toys...”

“Wha...oh!” Emma got it. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Regina just pulled the blonde into a hug when she saw her face going red.

“Honey, don’t get embarrassed,” Regina said chuckling at how adorable Emma looked. Regina sometimes forgot that Emma didn’t have much experience. It felt like they had been together for years rather than a few months. “Come on let’s get this finished so I can make us food before we go.” 

It didn’t take long for Regina and Emma to finish up Regina’s packing. They made their way into the living room where Zelena and Henry were watching Wizard of Oz. They both seemed pretty engrossed. 

“Hey guys, watching this again?” Regina asked even though she knew it was one of Zelena’s and Henry’s favorites. 

“Of course! I very much empathize with the wicked witch of the west,” Zelena said with a smirk at Regina.

“You mean you melt when someone chucks water at you. Explains why you don’t shower...” Regina said with a grin at her sister. 

“I’ll have you know I shower frequently, no I meant the fact that she hates the Wizard of Oz. Also, she enjoys making all the annoying people go away.” Zelena retorted. 

“Aunty Zelena, the witch is the bad guy. Dorothy is the one helping everyone.” Henry said, still watching the film. 

“Meh she's so boring though,” Zelena said to him. 

He turned to face her. “No, she’s the hero. She’s not boring.”

“What are you talking about, all she has is a tiny dong. The witch has flying monkeys. Those are way better!” Zelena said to him knowing it would wind him up. 

“Zelena, will you stop arguing with your nephew? Now, what do you all want for dinner?” Regina had to stop Zelena now before Henry would become passionate about proving his point, and then they’d go at it back and forth.

“Fine, I could go for a cheeseburger,” Zelena said to her with a smile.

“Oh that sounds good!” Emma added, agreeing with Zelena. “Do you want a hand in the kitchen?” 

“Only if you want to help,” Regina said knowing cooking wasn’t Emma’s favorite thing to do.

“I mean I’ll give it a go,” Emma said with a chuckle and followed Regina to the kitchen. Regina pulled out the stuff they needed. Regina taught Emma what she had to do and surprisingly Emma began to enjoy herself. 

“You know cooking with you is fun. I hated it when I used to try at home because it just got super stressful and nothing went the way I wanted.” Emma said putting her arms around Regina whilst she washed up.

“I mean it took me a while to learn but I had no other choice. The food they have here isn't the best for a child. Also, I wasn’t really up for having my food surrounded by loads of people all the time.”

“Yeah, I used to hate lunchtime. I usually just used to sneak food back to my room.” Emma recalled.

“I hate to think of what it was like for you there, I hated it when I was there too. Probably for different reasons but still. I think the food is almost done. Can you set the table for me, honey?” Regina asked Emma who pointed at the table which was already laid out. 

“One step ahead,” Emma said. “ Are you nervous about tonight?” 

“A little, I’m not sure how it will go down. I’ve never really tried stealing a ship before.” In actuality, Regina was super nervous about it, but she didn’t want to add to the blonde’s stress.

“I’m not sure if I can go through with it. What happens if something happens and someone gets hurt?” Emma said unable to control the small scared tremble in her voice.

Regina turned from drying up a dish and pulled Emma into a hug. 

“I know this has all been a lot, especially for you. But we will do our best to do it safely,” Regina said softly to Emma. 

“I just can’t help but feel like something is going to go wrong,” Emma said as she tried to contain her emotions.

“Come on, let's just eat and think about all this later,” Regina said, guiding Emma to a chair and going to fetch Zelena and Henry. 

Not long after they had all finished there was a knock on the door. Regina went to go answer it. August stood behind it looking a little flustered and worried.

“I think we have a problem–we can't find Pan. Mulan said she thinks he’s gone to tell someone what we are doing. I have rounded everyone else up because I think our best chance of going is if we go now.” Regina turned to a scared-looking Emma.

Regina nodded at August. “That is a problem. Good thinking. You are right. Tell everyone to start heading to the ship in fifteen minutes. It will give us time to create our diversion. We will meet you there soon.” August nodded then walked away. “Zelena I need you to get us into their undetected. 

“On it.” Zelena already had her computer out and started to hack into the system to distract the guards and take down the alarms. Within five minutes she was done and went to join Emma and Regina who were getting their stuff together. 

“Thank you, sis! Zelena I think it is best you go first. I want you to take your bags and begin to walk towards the ship. Emma and Henry will go after you. I will go last to make sure no one is following. If I haven’t turned up in ten minutes go without me.” 

“Regina! I will not leave without you!” The thought that Regina might not make it made her panic. She didn’t want to leave her alone. 

Regina sighed and pulled her into her. “Emma, you might not have a choice. If there is one thing I want you to make sure of is that you and Henry are safe. You're my top priority.” Regina realized that she should have mentioned this was part of her plan earlier but Emma would have been even more anxious this way she was forced to focus on what was happening. “Zelena, you need to go now.” 

“See you soon, sister!” Zelena settled her bag on her back, picked up her suitcase and left. 

Henry looked up at Emma and Regina. “Mommy, why don’t you come with us then we can keep each other safe?” He said tears pooling in his eyes. 

“I can’t be sweet. I need to make sure you all get there safely first,” Regina picked him up and kissed his cheek. She then pulled in Emma and held onto them tightly for a moment. “It’s time for you two to go now. Remember if I’m not there in ten minutes go without me.” 

Emma swallowed her emotions, in the hopes that it would keep her tears at bay. She kissed Regina hard and then took Henry from Regina. 

“I love you,” Emma said to her and stroked her cheek with her fingers.

“I love you too Emma,” Regina said with a sad smile. Emma kissed her once more than led Henry out the door and towards the ships. 

Regina took a few deep breaths and looked around her place one last time. She hated that she had to leave her home behind, the place where she had raised Henry but she knew there was no other way to stop Rumple. 

Once it was time she grabbed her things and opened the door she started to walk down the hall when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

“Miss Mills we need to have a word with you,” said a dark deep voice behind her. She knew then that she wasn’t going to make it.


	29. Regina Diary Entry 3

Regina Diary Entry Three  
This is a strange way to start a diary entry but I'm trapped. I was so close to making it out and then one of Captain George’s lackeys found me. Thankfully I'm pretty sure the rest of them made it out. I hate to think of what's happening with Henry and Emma now. My son has pretty much zero idea about what's happening, and Emma is probably panicking. You'd think me trying to escape would mean the Captain would be in a rush to see me, but no. I've been sitting here for an hour waiting for someone to come talk to me. I'm not sure what happens now but I'm going to do my best to try and help the others even if I'm not with them. 

After seeing Snow again and Emma finding her mother everything has been a bit of a blur. I wasn't quite sure how to react to it all. I was certain Snow was going to bring up my past and freak Emma out. I will tell her what happened, I just need to know she understands the whole story first. 

Me sitting here for this long tells me either I'm in serious trouble or that they have no idea what has happened. I'm hoping it's the last one. By now the crew and my son would be far enough away that they stand a good chance of escaping without any harm coming to them. I just need to figure out how to help them from here. 

Before I can even get my head straight loud footsteps are approaching my door. "Finally," I think to myself. That was before the door opened, and Mr. Gold stood in the doorway. He strode into the room looking at me dead in the eye. He took a seat in front of me. 

"A little birdy told me of your plans. Now I know I wasn't able to catch the rest of your crew but you will do nicely for what I have planned," Rumple said to me in a slimy voice that sent a shiver up my spine. I however kept my front up. 

"I'm not sure what you are talking about, sir. I was just going to check on our ship. It took quite a beating when we were on a mission." I told him hoping it was enough to cover me but I knew it was a feeble attempt. Rumple might be evil but he was still smart. 

"Oh, ok. Care to explain why the Baelfire is missing and also your crew, along with Zelena and your son?" Rumple asked me. Not sure how to reply, I tried my best to act like I had no idea. However, this did mean pulling all of my acting skills out of the bag. 

"My son is gone?! The…The last time I saw him was on the couch watching a DVD." I said, doing my best to sound like an angry, confused mother. The angry part wasn't hard to pull off if I'm honest. I hated this man. 

"Well, Miss. Mills he's missing. Along with Miss Swan which, I am informed, you are having relations with. Is this true?" He asked me knowing that if I answered yes to this question I was done for. 

"Sir I'm not sure where you are getting your information from but I can assure you it's false." I told him keeping as calm as possible years of training had prepared me for this moment.

"Mmm...well I've also heard the crew has run off to join Emma's parents on an unknown island. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" He asked with a smirk. 

"You're telling me my pilot has run off to live with her dead mother and father. I think you need to seriously think about who got you this intel. It seems as though they are feeding you lies." I know he knows I'm lying but this is my only way out right now. 

"Well even if this is the case. I have decided the best place for you to be right now is back at the earth base with me. You will be under my supervision and I will be sure to get the truth, Miss. Mills. It will come out eventually," he said before standing up and walking to the door. He turned to face me with a dark smirk on his face. "I hope you said goodbye to your son Miss Mills because you will never see him again." 

I wanted to stand up and shout to him that he needed to watch where he stepped but of course that would have done nothing for my situation. Not long after two huge guards came in and yanked me from my seat, placed cuffs on me, and led me to the shuttle that was to send me to the earth base. 

I was pushed roughly into the shuttle and strapped in so I could not get out. The two guards sat either side of me and Rumple was the other side of the shuttle. 

"It will be so nice to have you back home Regina. I have missed our times together." He said this, clearly trying to wind me up. Inside I felt my skin blazing but I remained cool on the outside. It wasn't time to let my anger fly just yet. 

I knew what he was thinking but I wasn't as suggestible as I once was. Years of learning from my mistakes had built up my integrity. I knew with Rumple around this wouldn't mean much but he wouldn't be able to trick me into anything anymore. 

During the shuttle ride, the air was filled with a heavy silence. Now and again he would give an order into his radio but other than that he just stared at me. It was uncomfortable and made me want to bite back but I just didn't look him in the eyes. 

It took a whole day for us to reach the earth base and the entire time I was able to get four hours of sleep but was awoken by a nightmare. In it, I witness Henry, Emma, and Zelena were killed right in front of me. I was helpless to do anything. I woke suddenly and to my dismay, there was Rumple wide awake and still staring at me. He tilted his head to the side and smirked. 

"Nightmare?" he said in a sinister voice. I just spooked blankly at him not wanting to fuel his fire. "Come on Regina, you can't be silent forever." 

"I'm sorry if I don't quite feel like talking. My son has been taken from me and now I'm being shipped back to somewhere I hate," I said to him trying to keep my voice as even as possible. 

Once the shuttle was docked I was unstrapped and led to Rumple's office. Where I was manhandled into a chair. I sat there trying to. Think of where Emma and Henry would be at this moment. If they hadn't come across any complications they should be arriving in less than an hour. I need to find some way of communicating with them.


	30. chapter 25

Chapter twenty five  
Emma did her best to navigate the ship. Her heartfelt heavy and her head wouldn't shut up. Regina hadn't made it and Emma had no idea what had happened. She had done her best to stay calm but it was hard. Zelena relieved her after five hours of flying and told her to go have some time to herself in the Captain's bedroom. Zelena saw that the blonde needed some headspace and knew that if she carried on she was more likely to try and turn the ship around and go back for Regina. Though Zelena wanted to do the same she knew that wasn't an option. If Regina had been taken, it meant Rumple knew something of their plans, and going back would mean jail time or worse. When Regina didn’t show, Zelena had to push Emma to leave and fought with her to keep her on track when they first escaped. Zelena knew her sister could handle whatever Rumple threw at her. Not that she wasn't worried about what would happen but she knew Regina would do her best to get to them. 

Emma had gone into her and Regina's room on the ship. She sat on Regina's side and looked at the book left on her bedside table that she had been reading. Emma took the book and opened it. She laid her head or Regina's pillow and drew in the scent of the brunette. It made her chest tighten and tears spring to her eyes. She curled herself up into a ball and hid from the world around her. All she kept thinking was it's her fault because she should have stayed behind. Now Henry was without his mom and the crew was without their Captain. She knew that Regina would want her to just get on with their mission, but she knew how Rumple treated his employees normally and if he had any clue what had happened Regina was having to face him on her own. 

The more she thought about it the more upset she got. She had no idea how long she had been in the bedroom until Ruby came in to see if she was okay. Emma hadn't even heard when she knocked on the door. 

Ruby didn’t knock. She heard Emma crying and let herself. She sat beside Emma who was still curled up in a tight ball. "Hey Em, we're going to bed for the night, sorry I didn't come to see you before but I guessed you would want some time alone.” 

Emma didn't reply; instead, she just moved so she lay on Ruby's lap. Ruby started stroking her hair as she used to when Emma was younger. She used to do it when Emma got too stressed or someone had upset her. It helped her calm down when she wanted to be able to do it by herself.

They sat like that for a little while until Emma gained more control over her thoughts. She sat up slowly and looked at Ruby with red, raw eyes. "It was my fault, I should have gone with her," Emma said to Ruby in a dark quiet voice. 

"No sweety, if you had gone with her we would be without our Captain and our first pilot which would have meant we all got caught. Regina knew that this was the risk. We should have never trusted Pan." Ruby always had a feeling about him; he never talked to anyone–just did his job and hid from everyone. "I get this is hard. The best thing to do right now is sleep…"

Emma opened her mouth to say something but Ruby already knew what the blonde was going to say. "Henry is all tucked up safe in his bed and Zelena read to him," Ruby told her with a smile. "Now let's get you a shower and into your pajamas and I'll keep you company until you fall asleep." 

Ruby stayed with her because she knew if she left the room now Emma would spiral back down. Emma did as she said and showered; it relaxed her some. She got dressed and when she came back into the room Ruby had made her a cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon. She smiled slightly at Ruby who returned her smile. 

"These usually help you get out of your funks," Ruby said, holding her mug. 

"Thank you, Ruby, I'm sorry I'm such a mess. I can’t stop thinking. Not knowing what exactly happened to Regina, or where she is, or what is happening to her is going to drive me insane.” 

"I understand. I would feel that way about you, or August. But you have to trust that Regina knew what she was doing. And she would want you to carry on. You and Henry being safe will get her through this. And you need to be strong. Drink, let it relax you and let’s try to sleep. I will be right for her if you need me."

Emma smiled weakly at her and snuggled into Ruby's side as she used to years ago. 

It wasn't long before both girls were asleep. Ruby had waited until she was 100% sure Emma was asleep before doing it herself. She knew that the blonde was a light sleeper. 

In the morning Emma woke up and found a note on the pillow beside her. It read:

Morning sleepyhead,

I didn't want to wake you up too early. Ariel can manage so don't worry about rushing and take your time. I made sure to save you a bagel and hopefully the coffee in the pot is still warm. 

Love your bestest big sister,

Ruby x

P. S Henry is in love with the ship so you don't need to worry about him either. 

Emma smiled to herself, glad she had Ruby around. The note was a good distraction. She got up and got dressed in her uniform, but then she started thinking about Regina again and all the scenarios of what happened, where was she? What is happening? Although she didn’t feel like she could face the world today and knew that she needed to because Regina would want her to, and the crew was going to be counting on her once they reached their new home. And then there was Henry. 

She pulled herself together. She started to fix her hair, which took longer than usual because she hadn't dried it the night before. Once she felt presentable she made her way to the kitchen area and grabbed her bagel and coffee. She took a seat at the small table in the middle and took her time to enjoy her coffee. She had to carry on as usual.

August walked into the room just before she finished and smiled gingerly at her. She knew he wasn't always the best at handling her emotions so knew he would be feeling slightly awkward. 

"Hey kiddo, you feeling okay?" He asked as he went to grab himself a coffee. 

"I'm feeling better I guess. I still hate myself a little though," Emma said honestly knowing August would understand her. 

"I know, but honestly there was nothing anyone could have done. Unless you have some superpower which can turn other people invisible?" August joked as he usually did in an attempt to make Emma feel better.

"Nope. If I had, I would have been able to get away with more stuff in training," Emma said to him as he came to join her at the table. 

"I know this is probably crap advice but to me, it seems like the best chance you have at getting to see her again is if you keep focused on this mission." It was a hard truth but August knew Emma could take it; sometimes the best way to make her see a way out was to be a little harsh. “We are an hour away so best get your shit together."

Emma nodded and downed the last of her coffee. She didn't need to pack because she never unpacked. She did however need to check in on Henry. Bad enough his mother was gone; she was going to be there for him as Regina would be. 

"Thanks, August. I’m going to go find Henry. Poor kid must be so out of sorts," Emma said before getting up and putting her cup in the dishwasher 

"See you later, kid...and remember to keep your chin up and your hopes high," August said which made Emma roll her eyes but she smiled back at him gratefully. 

She went to the control center to ask Ruby if she knew where Henry was. When she entered, she didn’t have to ask, because Henry was sitting in her seat, watching Ariel fly. She went over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. 

“Excuse me, but this is my chair,” Emma said with a chuckle. 

Henry looked up and then flew off her seat and bounded up into her arms. 

"Emma!!! Ariel has been showing me how to fly, isn't that awesome!!!" He said excitedly. It was obvious his eight-year-old brain hadn't quite processed what had happened yet. 

"It is awesome. Did she tell you were going to a new planet?" Emma asked, wanting to understand how much Henry knew. He nodded enthusiastically. 

"She told me your mommy and daddy are there and the old crew of Baelfire." He said with a grin like it was the best thing ever. "Now we have an even bigger family." 

"We sure do, kid." She hoped that Snow and David would like Henry because if they didn't, they weren't to be trusted. Henry was by far the most intelligent and insightful kid Emma had ever met. 

"We learned about your mom at school. They told us she went missing on a dangerous mission, but it never really said what that mission was," Henry told her, curious about how much more he could learn. 

"What I was told was the Baelfire was sent to help support another fleet. However, when they got there the enemy had been expecting them and managed to use some kind of device to cut their transmissions and control their ship. The funny thing is, that was the first time that ever happened to a ship. We know of no tech that can do that. And the Baelfire was still in perfect shape when it returned. It is a mystery. But, when we meet my mom, maybe she can tell you the REAL story?” 

Henry’s eyes grew wide at the idea. “I am going to meet her. Woh.” It finally sunk in. 

Emma chuckled. He reminded her of herself at that age–wanting to learn everything but not old enough for people to take him seriously. Henry was bright, and he understood more than most kids, maybe even adults, due to his curiosity and asking question after question. He may be a little over-excitable and sometimes his imagination would run wild but he had patience where it counted. 

"Wanna help me land the ship?” She asked even though she knew the answer. He got down from her arms and gave her her seat back. She then invited him onto her lap so he could see the controls. “This is so cool, Emma! Thank you for letting me help you.” 

Emma smiled so wide. His happiness was her happiness. 

It wasn't long before they safely arrived. Everyone went to get their things. Emma stayed behind in the control room. It was her job to permanently switch off the Baelfire's location system, which killed her because that meant cutting off Regina should she need to communicate with them. Henry stayed with Emma as she did this. She tried her best not to fall apart, especially in front of Henry. 

Henry took her hand, seeing her distress. “We made it safe, just as mommy wanted us to. It was her top priority. Mommy will find us.” 

Emma was shocked by Henry’s words. At that moment, he didn’t remind her of herself, but of Regina. “You are brave, just like your mommy, did you know that?”

She scooped him up and they went to gather their things. 

Emma and the crew disembarked. Snow and David were there to welcome them, but there was some other man with them she didn’t see before. He couldn’t have been much older than herself. As Emma took the lead, with Zelena and Henry by her side, she kept her eyes locked on the new person. She halted not far from where they stood. 

“Snow, David, I want you to meet Henry and Zelena, Regina’s family. I see you have someone new with you new, too. Care to introduce us?” Emma asked impatiently. She wanted to keep things formal for now. Just because she had moved here didn’t mean Snow and David were her instant family. Now that he had more time to think about what choices they made, she couldn’t put it behind her that her parents ditched her. They were alive all this time. Her mind was having a hard time processing this information. And with her recent loss, she wasn’t interested in more emotional stress. 

Snow sensed Emma’s desire to be distant, so she didn’t hug her like last time. She continued to smile at her and the rest of the crew who stood behind Emma, and at Henry who stood next to Emma holding her hand.

“Welcome everyone. We are so glad to see you made it safe. Emma, this is Neal–known to most as Baelfire, Rumple's son.” 

This made Emma recoil, how could she possibly trust anyone related to that man. She was sure that her eyes did not conceal her surprise. 

“Hey,” he said casually. Nobody moved or stirred. 

Emma looked at Zelena, and then behind her. Everyone appeared to be just as shocked and uncomfortable as her. 

Neal could see the entire crew eyeing him up and down, trying to figure out what was going on. He turned to Snow, “Let's take everyone to the meeting room so I can explain.” 

With hesitation, Emma directed everyone to follow. They went to the same room as last time. 

When everyone sat down, Neal stayed standing and began to explain. “So, like Snow said, I am the guy your ship is named after. I ran away from my dad at a very young age. My dad underestimated me and thought I had run off somewhere on Earth. But I jumped into a ship traveling to the sky base. I spent years there while my father spent years scouring the earth for me. I managed to not draw suspicion, and eventually befriended a new crew who brought me here. Some of them stayed with me and some of them went back. Until these two arrived, life here was more of a matter of surviving than working towards anything bigger than that. But now that you guys are here, we stand a chance to take that dick down.” 

What he said seemed to clarify what he was doing there and they were confident he was on their side.

“So my purpose here is I am head of the las, where we have been working towards that plan of taking my father down.” Neal had a remote in his hand and when he pressed a button, the lights went dim and a projector displayed images of a lab. 

The images showed a room filled with computer bits and old weapons. One particular image showed a communication booth, powerful enough to communicate with ships. It didn’t look brilliant but it must work well enough. 

Henry shouted, “Hey! I know what that is! Emma, we can use that to contact momma instead. We can use the watch.”

Emma looked at him confused. “Henry, we don't have watch communicators?” She told him wondering what he meant.

“Momma does, Aunty Zelena helped me buy her one on her birthday,” Henry told her with a sweet smile. Emma looked at Zelena with an eyebrow lifted.

“Why didn’t you guys just say that?! I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of how we can communicate… and she’s had a walkie talkie watch this whole time?!” Emma said, trying not to let Henry see that she was angry at Zelena. 

“To be honest even if I had remembered I don't think it is strong enough to reach her,” Zelena said looking at Henry’s toy watch. It barely used to work on the ship.

Neal flipped on the lights and walked over to Henry. “Henry, would it be okay if I looked at your watch?” Henry eyed him suspiciously. “I might be able to work out how to make it stronger so your mom can hear us.” 

“Okay, as long as it means we can speak to Momma,” Henry told him and took off his watch and handed it to him. 

Neal didn’t go far. He let Henry see what he was doing. Naturally curious, Henry looked on intently. 

“Would it be okay if I took it apart?” alNeal asked Henry, who pondered that for a moment and nodded.

“If it will help you can,” Henry told him. 

Neal smiled at him. 

Snow stood up. “I would like for the rest of you to get settled into your rooms. Archie is just outside to take you there. Emma, Zelena, and Henry, will you stay behind so that we can talk further? I need to know what happened with Regina.” 

“Let’s go to the lab so I can work on this while you all talk,” Neal suggested. 

Henry jumped up and down. “That place from the pictures? I wanna see! Can I help!” 

Emma put a hand on Henry’s shoulder. She wasn’t half as taken by Neal as Henry was. “Henry, settle down. Neal needs his space to work.” 

“It should be ok if you don’t mind. You will be there to watch him,” Neal said.

Henry looked up at Emma and Zelena with pleading eyes. Emma and Zelena looked at each other. They couldn’t deny Henry this learning lesson. Emma said, “We are all going together. But if Neal needs his space, we will leave, go it?”

Henry nodded in agreement and they all went to the lab.

As Neal and Henry went to one of the workbenches, Emma started to tell Snow what had happened.

When they explained, Snow said, “So we need to come up with a plan to get her back, quick; because the longer Regina is with Rumple, the better chance he has to find out where we are.” 

“We need to work hard, then,” David said. The situation they were in was difficult. “But, for now, why don’t you go unpack and get something to eat. We can meet back here in two hours.” 

Emma suddenly felt tired. Zelena too. It took Emma a bit to coax Henry away from Neal. Zelena stepped in, and Henry reluctantly left, insisting that someone set their watch for two hours when he can come back. This made them laugh. They met Archie just outside the lab. He let them know that Robin had taken it upon herself to take her mother’s things to the room, and Ruby took Emma and Henry’s things to their room. They could go meet everyone in the kitchen to eat, or to their rooms. 

It was a little hard for Emma to go see right away the room that she was supposed to be sharing with Regina. “Hey, kid, are you hungry?”

Henry nodded his head. Emma looked at Zelena, and she said she was hungry too, so Archie took them to the kitchen. When they entered, Henry broke free and ran to the table where his cousin Robin, Alice, Ruby, Ariel, and August were, babbling about the lab. 

Zelena laughed, “Oh good, we have instant babysitters.” 

Emma smiled. She was glad Henry was adjusting, but she worried about how long would the distractions last. Henry was used to his mom being gone for long periods, but still, there had to be a limit. She focused on picking out healthy food for Henry, something she knew Regina would want for him. Emma then thought about her choices, but in truth, she didn’t feel like eating.

Two hours went by quickly, and Emma returned to the lab with her communications team and Henry. Zelena went to her room, not interested in tech details. She just made Emma promise to tell her if they contacted Regina, or what the status was on that ASAP. 

alNeal had dismantled the watch and seemed to be trying to hook it up to something.

“Hey guys, quick question–do one of you know how to get your communication system out of the ship in one piece?” alNeal asked. Everyone looked at Graham.

“I can try but I might need help,” Graham told them. 

“I’ll give you a hand,” Robin said to him and they both went off to go get it. 

“You think we can talk to her?” Emma asked alNeal who looked up at her. 

“Sure. The only issue is it may give away our location if someone manages to pick up on the signal so we need to make it quick and hope no one is listening. The only problem is that Regina won't be able to talk back to us using her watch; this frequency only goes one way. I am working on how to receive a message from her.”

Emma frowned. That was less than what she had hoped for. 

Neal continued, “Any chance you still remember Rumple’s schedule? You being his goddaughter and all. It could tell us the best time to contact her if he has her.“ 

Emma thought for a moment. “I think our best chance is trying to talk to her before she goes to bed. I highly doubt that she is leaving Rumple’s sight.” 

“Ok. So think about what you want to say in a one-way communication, for now. We will keep working on a way for her to communicate to us, hopefully without getting caught.” 

Emma nodded. “I’m sure we will come up with something.” This solution was not ideal, but it was hopeful. Emma determined to work day and night until she knew how to save Regina.


	31. chapter 26

Chapter Twenty six  
Regina was sitting in the small room Rumple had assigned to her. It only had a bed, a small bathroom and she was only allowed to leave for food or when Rumple wanted her to do a job. It was late at night and she was having trouble sleeping. She couldn't help but think about what Henry and Emma were up to. She knew they were safe but she hated being so far away from them. Especially Henry. She wondered when she would see him again, if ever. She would kill to hug her son right now. He always made her feel better. 

She lay on her bed covered in itchy bed sheets and a thin lumpy pillow, wishing there was some way to contact them. As she thought about that, she heard a quiet crackle. At first, she dismissed the sound as her thoughts getting loud, but when she stopped to listen, she determined it was a sound coming from her room, somewhere. She got up and looked around, searching for the sound. It seemed like it was always near her, but she couldn’t find it. Frustrated, she returned to her bed and put her arm behind her head. She heard the crackle behind her. She jumped up and looked under her pillow, but then it crossed her mind–the watch on her wrist, the one Henry got for her. He made a big deal to get it because it was a communicator watch. She held it up to her ear, and there was the sound! She pushed the receiver button and it crackled to life. 

"Regina, we're not sure you will get this but in the chance that you do please listen carefully. We have planned to overthrow Rumple but we need you to do a few things if that's possible. Firstly we need you to try and mess up the communications to his ship. We know this might be difficult but it's detrimental that you try. We are planning to try and radio the space base and if this is possible we don't want Rumple to be able to speak to them or hear them. Secondly, in five days, we need Rumple to be in his office at 1500. We stand a better chance at rescuing you if he isn't near." Regina smiled at Emma's voice. ''This is only a one-way transmission. If you have managed these things, we send us a signal back via another communication device. You know the coordinates.”

She had faith Emma would contact her. And they already have a plan. Regina knew she was gonna struggle to get this plan in action by 1500 in five days, but what choice did she have? They were coming and she wasn’t going to let them get caught. Rumple would make all of them pay. She lay in her bed thinking of how she was going to execute this. 

She woke up in a panic. Her sleep was filled with nightmares about being unable to find Henry or Emma. Every time she got close, Rumple would pop up and do something to stop her from finding them. It gave her an ugly feeling. She couldn’t even remember nodding off. She felt exhausted. She laid back down, trying to get herself settled down. She drifted off to sleep again, this time a dreamless sleep, but was suddenly awakened by someone coming into her room. She was dragged out of bed and told she had fifteen minutes to get ready before someone came to take her to Rumple's office. 

She stood in front of Rumple as he stared coldly at her. She had seen him give this look to his enemies, and she also saw those enemies squirm under his gaze, but she had known this man for a long time. She knew the way he operated, his tactics, and she was ready to play his game. He wasn’t the only one who was strong. Also, she had only five days to carry out her orders. Till then, she just had to keep up with her story and turn this into a game his sinister mind would be willing to play. 

Even though Rumple saw Regina as one of his most trusted, he always had suspicions for anyone; he trusted nobody. However, in his arrogance, he felt that he knew Regina better than most because she grew up around him. He got to influence her, shape her, mold her into something of a protege, or so he believed. 

This game they were playing wasn’t easy for either of them because of their history. 

He eyeballed her as he sat behind his large mahogany desk decorated in trinkets and ornaments from all over the world. His entire office was covered in them–his trophies.

“Hello, dearie, nice to see you are well. Sorry to have gotten you up so early. I just thought you would want to get a head start on your chores,” he said with an evil smirk. He took a notebook from his desk and placed it in front of Regina. “This is a list of everything I need you to do.” 

When she took the notebook, she eyeballed his office. Perhaps there was something there she could use for her mission. She tried not to be obvious. “Yes sir,” Regina said casually. She took the notebook and started to look at the chores. Each time she looked up at him from the notebook, she made a visual sweep.

Rumple continued. “Now I don't expect you to do all these chores today you have a week to finish them. I expect you to do each job perfectly.” 

She nodded at him, looking at him once again, and then the office. She searched through the chores to see if any of them would take her near the communications room. To her surprise one of them did, but it wasn’t a long task. She started to make a mental note of what order she wanted to perform each task, perhaps affording her more time to linger in the communications room without detection, and closer to the fifth day. She was happy Rumple said she could take her time. It worked in her favor.

“Regina,” Rumple said as sweetly as he could, although it just sounded creepy, “I want you to remember that I was the person that took you in and showed you what you could become. I taught you everything you know and also have helped you every step of the way. I know we've had a bumpy past but when it comes down to it I feel like you were one of my greatest accomplishments.” 

Hearing this made Regina uncomfortable. She hated that he acted as though she was his possession.

Ever since she could remember Rumple had been there. When she was younger her mother kept her away from him, but once she was old enough her mother employed Rumple to teach her how to become the best pilot no matter what. Regina’s childhood was horrid. The only person she could ever trust was her father and thanks to her mother he was powerless to help her. Her mother would lock her in her room days at a time to study. She wasn’t allowed friends, and the things she loved were taken away from her including her first love. The images of that night still haunted her and worse was the memory of Rumple using it to guild her into becoming the person she never wanted to be. He was the man who forced her to do some of the most despicable things she could ever think of and praised her for it. She was so deluded and lost that she mistook his praise for love and care. It took her some time to realize he was just using her and her family to get what he wanted. 

She didn’t comment on his “praise” of her. She didn’t feel the same way as he did, nor feel gratitude. He paused as if waiting for her to reply. She felt as though she couldn’t pull off a lie. And she refused to thank him. She just nodded, closed the notebook, and replied, “Thank you for the notebook. I will fulfill my duties with your high expectations.”

Rumple smiled back at her, but with the cold eyes, he gave her when she first walked in. “You’re dismissed.”

Regina made a mental note of a few objects in his office, then left. 

She spent the day working on his chores. She took her time, going overboard on the “perfect” expectation. It was hours after dinner before she was informed she could return to her room. She was so tired that she had no problem falling asleep. 

The next morning Regina was awake and ready before they came to get her. She decided that she needed to contact Emma today otherwise she might not get another chance. She started with some of the odd things Rumple had listed like a deep cleaning of the cafeteria kitchen and the classrooms. This was cleaning crew work, but clearly, Rumple was using this as an excuse to tire Regina out, break her will. But he must have forgotten who he was playing with. Regina was used to worse things than cleaning food out of a fridge and getting chewing gum from under students' desks. After lunch, she headed to the job that would allow her to send a message–the communication room. She chose after lunch because the staff that worked there took later lunches than her and she knew they would be still taking their breaks. But she needed to disconnect the device from the system, and that only gave her ten minutes before someone was alerted to it. She had rehearsed all day what she would exactly say to Emma. 

When she entered the room, she started off doing a little cleaning, just in case someone was in there she didn’t see. Once she was confident she was alone, she picked the machine she was to use, unplugged it, and left the vacuum on by the door so it would drown out her voice to the outside when she talked to Emma. 

She quickly locked the device onto the signal Emma had been sending from. It crackled to life and hoped someone would pick up the receiver quickly.

“Regina?” It wasn't Emma; it was Snow. But she heard a crash in the background and suddenly Emma’s voice came through.

“Regina is that you?” Emma almost shouted. Regina chuckled a little at how relieved Emma sounded. 

“Yes, it's me, sweetie. I’m so sorry I’m not there with you but I need to be quick. The day you want to arrive I will make sure I’m in my room. It’s next to Rumple’s office, I estimate you will have a timeframe of less than half an hour before everyone knows what's going on. I hope this information is useful. Are you sure about your plan?” 

“We’re working on it, just stay safe and make sure that you're ready for us,” Emma told her. “I miss you so much, Regina. Henry misses you too. I can’t wait for us to be together again” Emma said. 

Regina felt her emotions bubble in her chest. She hated this situation. “I miss you too. Don’t worry darling we will all be together soon enough. Keep your focus. I will keep mine.” Regina looked at her watch and realized if she didn't reconnect now then she would be found out. “I have to go with my love but I trust you. Keep my little angel safe for me too.” She didn’t wait for Emma to reply. She disconnected. 

She was about to reattach the station radio when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She stood stock-still, trying to think of some excuse for what she was doing.

“Miss Mills, I do hope there is a good reason as to why you have disconnected my radio?” Rumple said as he walked up behind her. Regina turned around slowly to come face to face with him. 

“You startled me, Mr. Gold. I accidentally disconnected it whilst I was cleaning. I’m sorry about that, I was just reconnecting it.”

“Stop the excuses, Regina, I heard the end of your conversion to Miss Swan. I can no longer trust you to do chores, but at least I may be able to use you to get information on my missing ship.” Rumple snapped his fingers and two large goons walked in. “I would like you to take Miss. Mills to my ‘special’ chamber. We have a lot of talking to do.”

The two goons put her in handcuffs and picked her up before she had a chance to protest. But what good would any action have been? She had nowhere to go or run; she had no choice, she was caught. Her mind raced to think about what Rumple had in store for her. But worse of all, if Emma came for her, she wasn’t going to be where she told her; her chances of being rescued had been ruined.


	32. chapter 27

Chapter Twenty seven.

Emma and Snow had been working on the best way to get into Rumple’s space base without getting caught. They had been brainstorming for quite some time and the only thing that seemed feasible was to use the Baelfire to distract everyone whilst someone used the ship made by Snow’s crew to get to Regina. Problem was that no one was entirely sure how to get in and out without being seen. They decided it was time to share what they had up to this point to the rest of their team and hopefully they could brainstorm together.

Once everyone was settled down in the meeting room, Snow addressed everyone. “So our plan so far is to fly the Baelfire and land it as close to his office as possible. We will wait for him to approach, then send a message to the rescue team so they know how many of Rumple's guards are still in the building. After their assessment, they will make their way to Regina and bring her out. Just before we storm the building, we will announce the truth to the people. Hopefully, they will join us to bring down Rumple. Our second group will be in charge of bringing down Rumple. This means we need to get into his systems and take over the space station too because with that thing still up there he still has power. The truth needs to be told to them too and hope that they will join us [in taking over the station] so it's no use to Rumple. Please try and not use unnecessary violence; do your best to try not to injure people, but I know sometimes it can’t be helped. So let's talk teams. Emma and David are running the rescue team. I would like three other people to join, preferably someone who knows the building well, someone willing to defend, if need be, and someone experienced in getting into locked areas.” 

Ruby spoke up immediately. “I mean, I got to know the place pretty well when August and I were working as Rumple's second hand. I’m sure I know about certain rooms he has kept secret from most people.” 

Mulan added, “I’m pretty good in hand to hand combat. I can take on any of Rumple's lackeys.” 

Ruby turned to Mulan and smiled at her, knowing she was saying she wanted to protect her. 

“I can pick a lock, hack into any code pretty well If you guys don’t mind me joining you?” al Neal asked.

Emma wasn’t sure about alNeal yet but if Snow trusted him, she would give him a chance. “Sure you can join us,” Emma told him stiffly. alNeal being Rumple's son put Emma on edge. She wasn’t sure what his motives were, and she certainly couldn’t have him go rogue if he had an ulterior motive to get back at his father. 

“Okay, so Emma, David, Ruby, Mulan, and Neal will be the rescue team. Then the other team will be August. Alice, Robin, and Graham handling technology.” Snow looked at them for confirmation and without hesitation, they all nodded at Snow who thanked them. “The rest of you will be following me, Our job is to distract Rumple and his crew and make sure to make enough noise to cover the other two teams. We will be the people who make them realize they are being led by a monster. We need to make them see what he is doing and show them there is a way to help. Right? Let's get back to work, we have a revolution to prepare for.” 

There was a roar of applause that exploded in the room. Everyone was smiling and cheering, glad to finally be making progress. Emma was happy that everyone approved of the plan, and was excited. But she didn’t join them in their cheer. All of this would be better if Regina was there. Half of her was missing, all of them were in danger. She would feel happy and whole when they rescued Regina.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regina sat in a dark, damp room. Dinner was served to her at least: a bread roll, some gross looking soup, and a glass of water. She didn’t touch it, not trusting it to be laced with something, knowing Rumple. It had been a day so far. She was stripped of her clothes, and watch, and was made to wear a night sack made of itchy fabric instead. She had no privacy because there was a camera in the right corner watching her every move. Other than that, so far, she had been left alone. She knew that wouldn’t last long. 

She had been awake for less than an hour when Rumple had made his way to the room. He sat down on a plastic chair in the corner and looked at her with a vicious look in her eyes.

“Now, dearie, you can either tell me what your little friends have planned or I will make you tell me. Trust me the first option will hurt a lot less.” 

“What makes you think I know anything?” That was mostly true; she had no idea what they were planning exactly, only her part in the whole thing. 

Rumple chuckled darkly then stood up, his cane in his right hand as he walked towards her. “My dear, I know you and I know Swan, and I also know you two have been making kissy faces with each other for two months so you either tell me now or face the consequences.” He told her as he flicked the cane up to sit in both his hands. 

Regina eyed the cane, she knew his movement was meant to threaten and scare her but there was no way she would talk. She stayed silent. 

“Have it your way. GUARDS COME HOLD HER STILL!” 

Two guards came in and pulled her off the bed and held her up. 

“You're going to wish you told me, Regina,” Rumple said before bringing his cane down on her. 

The pain radiated through Regina but she didn’t flinch and she didn’t make a sound. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing that he had caused her pain. 

“Hmm...perhaps before I continue, let me and you have a chat about your parents. I’m sure you would appreciate a recall of events.” 

“Say what you want. The only reason I did what I did was that you made me,” Regina told him. 

He sniggered at her then sat back down in his seat. “Oh really? So it was I that forced your mother to take pills. It was I that made you disappoint them with your choice to almost marry a man who your mother hated? It was I that decided to accuse your mother of murdering said man? It was I that made your father stand up to your mother and therefore caused them to fight, ending in your father moving away? Did I tell you to defy your mother and suggest you follow the lead of a man I barely knew to help get rid of her?” Rumple recounted these things venomously. Regina’s eyes were shut as if she could not hear him. He was reopening old wounds, and he knew it. “It broke your father’s heart to see his only daughter change so much.”

Those words started to get to Regina. She had worked hard to overcome the guilt of her actions, but the shame always remained. Her mother always forced her to do things she didn’t want to do, and her punishments were cruel and harsh. After Daniel’s death, her father tried to stand up to her mother, finally, but they divorced and she drove her father away, leaving her alone and further subjected to her mother’s cruelty. The tipping point was the day she met Rumple. 

Regina pushed down her emotions and resisted his words. “No. You ARE the reason they are dead. If it wasn’t for you I might still have a mother and father. Sure they weren’t the best parents but who is, at least they didn’t abandon me as your father did.” Regina said in the calmest voice she could manage. 

Unlike herself, Rumple lost control of himself at her words. His face turned red and the veins in his neck began to pop out. “You think you're so high and mighty, Captain? I think you have forgotten that I know you, Regina. I know your darkest secrets; secrets that if they got out could ruin you. That son you love so much would reject you. That woman you are in love with would abandon you. The only person you would have left is the twisted sister of yours and we all know that she isn’t the most loyal of people.” 

“Nothing you could say or do to me will get me to talk,” Regina told him leaning forward so her face was closer to his. “This might be your game, Rumple, but I will win.” 

“We will see about that. Guards, take her to my favorite room.” Rumple said before walking out of the room. 

She was dragged out of the room and taken even further down the building. The elevator was made of metal, unlike the cozy-looking ones used on the main floors. The further down they went the colder it got. The elevator stopped right at the bottom and Regina was led out into an even colder hallway. The walls were lined with pipes that would blow out hot steam now and again. The floor was wet and freezing on her bare feet that scrapped along the ground and the guards tugged her down the long hallway. The sounds of machinery and pipes echoed all around her so loudly she could barely hear herself breathing. 

At the end of the hallway was a heavy metal door with no window. Once they reached it the guards threw the door open and pushed her through the door. Inside were huge strange looking devices. If she didn’t know any better she would be mistaken for factory machinery. But in the middle of the room was a metal chair with restraining cuffs on the arms and feet. It was surrounded by strange, sinister-looking machines. 

They forced her into the chair and strapped her in. They then placed something strange and hard into her mouth. She wasn’t stupid; she knew what came next.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If they had any chance of reaching Regina, Emma knew they all had to be in good shape. She started to work out most of the time when she wasn’t eating, sleeping, or working on their plans. She knew what Rumple was like and he wasn’t going to make this easy. She knew better than to expect Regina to just be sat in her room unguarded. Emma made sure the others knew what she knew and everyone made sure to share any information they had. It wasn’t a lot but Emma was hoping it would be enough to get Regina back. 

Henry had been spending most of his time with Granny. She had taken a liking to him, and he liked her too. She had been teaching a little and helped him find things to distract him from Regina’s absence and the fact that they were preparing for war.

Tomorrow is when they were making their way back to earth. They would reach the earth in two days. It wasn’t a long journey, but it was long enough for Emma. Her mind was filled with terrible thoughts of Regina in danger. All Emma could do was hope she was wrong and that Regina was alive when they reached her.


	33. chapter 28

Chapter Twenty Eight  
Regina was suspended from a wall, her entire body ached and every single movement hurt. Her determination to not say anything meant Rumple would turn up his torture notch every time she refused to talk. It had escalated pretty quickly. It started with them burning her slowly with branding irons; when she wouldn’t open her mouth even to scream, they changed tactics and pulled out a large volt machine and attached it to certain parts of her body. At first, they started with only a slight current but the longer she refused to talk, the higher it got. She must have blacked out at some point because she woke up with her hands and feet bound and pulled uncomfortably in different directions. It had taken her a while to realize they had tied her to the wall. 

Her head felt strange and her body felt like it was on fire. Her eyes could barely stay open, there was no light in the room around her and she could hear the chug of the pipes behind the door. She had no idea how long she was out for, it could be minutes, it could have been hours, days. She could have missed her rescue and right now Emma, Henry, and the others would have probably given up on her. Her thoughts spiraled out of control. Thoughts of what if something happened to Emma, what if they were never really going to save her. 

She couldn’t stop them but she didn’t let it change the fact that she would keep her mouth shut. She could never forgive herself if she said anything. She kept telling herself that her torture was worth it if it meant her friends and family were safe. She felt her eyes begin to water, she let her tears fall freely. She barely had a handle of herself when a white light took over the room. She raised her head slowly and painfully to see where it came from and she was faced with a picture of Emma being projected on the wall opposite her. A voice began to speak through a speaker somewhere in the room. It took a few seconds for Regina to realize it was Emma’s voice.

“I can’t believe she thought she could fool us into believing she was a good person.” Emma's voice sounded through the speaker. “I will never forgive her for what she has done, how could she be so cruel. Especially to her father who loved her so much.” 

Regina was confused. How had Rumple got these recordings? How did he tell Emma about her past? Perhaps it wasn’t Rumple, but Snow trying to make sure her daughter no longer loved her. Regina couldn’t help the bubble of anger that rose to the surface. How dare she say those things to Emma. How dare she poison her against her. That woman could never keep a secret. Except of course the one she kept from her daughter her entire life.

Regina couldn’t explain what was happening in her brain. It was like she had no control over her thoughts. She had felt similar to this after Danel died before Henry was born. Dark thoughts took over and she trusted no-one; she isolated herself most of the time until she found out she was pregnant with Henry. She knew then that she needed to get her head in a better place because her entire life was about to change. She managed to keep herself from spiraling, but she still spent most of her time alone, battling her negative thoughts. Then she met Robin, who gave her no choice but to befriend him, and his cocky charm somehow made its way through her walls. He asked her to be his girlfriend and she said yes. Their relationship wasn’t too serious because he was still stuck on a girl that he had been dating on earth. On that last mission, he had broken up with her moments before the accident. She hated that some of her last thoughts of him were bad ones, but the moment she lost him she realized that she was never in love with him; not in the same way she loved Daniel or how she loved Emma now. 

She watched as the screen and speakers continued to say horrible things in Emma’s voice. That was the greatest mind game; she knew it wasn’t her. Rumple was a master of elaborate tricks, that’s all it was, and her determination to not give into him was stronger than anything he could throw at her. But, it wasn’t adding fuel to that little negative voice in her head, telling her that IF Emma knew these things, this is exactly what she would say to her.

Once it was over Rumple walked into the room. She could hear the click of his heels on the floor as he approached her but she didn't lift her head. She saw his feet come into view. He lifted her chin to look at him.

“She doesn't love you, how could she, you're a monster,” He told her with a smirk. “You belong here with me.” 

“How long have I been here?” Regina asked him. 

He sighed and chuckled darkly. “I’m not going to answer your questions if you don’t answer mine, hmm,” He said, his voice heavy and taunting. “ Are you ready to talk to Miss Mills?”

Regina just looked him dead in his eyes. Part of her wanted to talk so this could stop but even though she wasn’t in her right state of mind, she knew better than to tell the crocodile her secrets. She had done that before and it brought her nothing but pain and guilt.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were finally aboard the Baelfire, ready to execute their mission. Emma was sitting in the pilot chair and could see Snow sitting in her ship beside her. The crew was ready to go, but without Regina, they didn’t have a Captain. Most of them had tried to vote Emma in but she knew nothing about leading a crew. However, she knew who would be perfect for the job and that was Ruby. 

Ruby was unsure at first but after August and Emma had talked to her about it accepted the responsibility. The crew trusted her and if anyone could do it, it would be Ruby. alNeal had joined their crew to replace Ruby’s role, and Elsa, Anna’s sister, had taken on Pan’s role in the team. Emma had asked Zelena if she would stay with Henry and Granny, he needed someone to call family if anything went bad on their mission. 

When everyone was finally ready Snow gave the signal and they took off, with the Baelfire following. The two ships tried to stay as far from each other as possible because the Baelfire needed to take a different route; one that would enable them to land further away so they had a chance of getting to Regina unnoticed. Also, the particular flying formation for Snow’s ship and the fleet was crucial to their protective shield, something that Neal created, and could only be activated in a certain flying formation. The Baelfire was not a part of that original design, nor could it be incorporated on such short notice. Even if it could, the Baelfire had their separate mission to accomplish, and couldn’t stick to the formation. Emma and August’s mission plan hinged on whether or not Rumple hadn't sealed off his secret escape routes. Emma was certain he didn’t know Emma knew about them. As a kid, she used to explore the building in her free time which meant she knew a lot of things she shouldn’t know about the building.

As the ships glided toward their destination, Emma thought about the casualties involved. Everyone was risking their lives. She hoped by some miraculous turn of events no-one would get hurt. 

The communication channel crackled to life and Graham picked up the signal. Snow’s voice came through and it sounded as calm as ever. 

“Hello everyone, I just like to say that no matter what happens today, we are proud to call you our team. Although some of us haven’t known each other for long, you all feel like family to us. We appreciate that you believe in this cause enough to follow us into battle. I just want to say that I believe in all of you, I know right now this seems daunting and maybe even a little impossible but I know that each and every one of you has something Rumple will never have, and that is family. We stick together and we make each other stronger. One of us falls, we all pick each other up. By the end of this Rumple will most likely be alone in the world and we will be standing strong together.” 

Emma smiled at her mother's words. She was right, something that Rumple had never had as a true family, He never understood the importance of surrounding yourself with people who you can trust wholeheartedly and will pick you up if you fall. Emma admired her mother's bravery. She was beginning to realize who her parents were and the more she learned, the prouder she felt to be their daughter. Over the last few days, they had supported her and taught her as much as they could. They trusted her and her team and included them every step of the way. Emma could see that her parents were good leaders. Her mother was calm and collected, able to talk to everyone and make them calmer and see that there was hope. Her father stood by her mother's side and was not only her husband but her best friend and right-hand man. He clearly understood who he was married to and was not threatened by her strength but in fact, helped her and gave her more strength. Emma saw how they were with each other and knew that was what she and Regina had. They hadn’t been together that long, but she could confidently say that Regina had her back no matter what, but Emma wasn’t naive either; she knew they both had these walls to let down, but with trust, love, and respect, they would become better communicators, and never give up on each other. Just like her parents.

In just two days she would be facing her godfather for the last time but this time she was going to win...  



	34. chapter 29

Chapter Twenty Nine  
Rumple sat on a chair facing Regina who refused to look at him even if she did have the energy to do so. Her entire body was covered with burns, cuts, and bruises. She didn’t feel a thing, she had switched her brain off and blocked it out. She felt numb and half dead; her entire being was shouting at her to give up but she knew she couldn’t. The devil sat in front of her silently waiting for her to speak but she wasn’t going too. The only thing keeping her going was the faint hope that Emma was still out there and was going to rescue her. She was never one to be a damsel in distress; she hated that notion with a vengeance. She always believed that she was strong enough to get herself through anything but this...there was no way to escape Rumple, he made sure of that if he wasn’t in here threatening her, his guards were. Between inflicting as much pain as they could without killing her, they were also force-feeding her food and water into her mouth just enough to keep her hydrated but not enough to stop her hunger or thirst. The water they gave her was warm and murky and the only thing they brought for her to eat was stale bread.

All she wanted in life right now was to be in a warm room with her son and her girlfriend. She would use her memories to help her through her darkest moments. Moments when she felt close to breaking or when Rumple would try to make her believe she was abandoned. She knew how he liked playing mind games and she wasn’t going to fall for them. But her negative thoughts started to run rampant; she started telling herself that she would never be rescued and that no one cared enough about her to miss her, and if Emma knew the truth, she would think she was a monster. She was trying her hardest to fight these thoughts but they were starting to become overwhelming.

Rumple sat staring at her. She could feel his eyes burrowing into her as she hung lifelessly from her shackles. Now and again she could hear voices talking to him from his communicator. He hardly ever replied. He just watched her. 

She would listen closely to the voices and try to make out what was happening. Most of it was mundane information, daily operational stuff. At times he would disappear and Regina was left alone for an hour with the projection of Emma repeating itself on a loop. It would only stop when Rumple would return to sit in front of her. But turning it off brought no relief; the dialogue had been committed to memory, and it helped feed her negative thoughts. 

She hadn’t slept either since she was placed on the wall unless you counted the times she blacked out. She was tired, hungry, thirsty, and hurting but she stayed as strong as she could.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emma watched as a scout ship was sent towards the earth. The whole fleet was about an hour away. In that time, thermal images were sent to them on every floor of the building. Most importantly, it revealed that Rumple's office was empty, as it should be for this time, but that the cell Regina said she was going to be was also empty. This was her bed hour. Emma was able to confirm all the areas where life should be at this hour in that building, however, the basement showed faint signs of heat signatures down there. That was not an area where anyone was typical. Emma had a gut feeling she knew who that was down there, and Regina was not going to be in good shape. 

When she was younger she could recall people her Godfather had captured being dragged past her room which was close to his office. They would go into an elevator that she was never allowed to use. When she got a little older she managed to sneak a key card that would allow her access to the elevator. What she found at the bottom was something from her nightmare. She ran for her life and never attempted to sneak down there ever again. She had never mentioned it to a soul, knowing that it would get her into a lot of trouble. She even kept it from Ruby and August.

They were in the weapons room reading everything for when they landed. 

“I don’t understand, there is nothing down there but pipes,” August said confused. “It’s only inspected once every year and other than that no one goes down there.”

“I know what is there, Regina,” Emma spoke up. August turned to look at her with a questioning glare. ‘It isn’t good you might want to mentally prepare ourselves for what you find down there.” 

“Emma?” Ruby said, stopping what she was doing and looking at Emma who wore a scared expression. 

“It’s a torture chamber. When I was young I snuck down there thinking it would be some cool forbidden ship or something to help me find my parents. I was naive to think Rumple wouldn’t be hiding something so brutal. Back then I didn’t say anything and after a while, I kind of forgot about it, until now. But I’m pretty sure he has Regina in there.” Emma was forcing away her tears. She said what she needed to say, but she refused to let her mind imagine what Regina was enduring.

“Oh my God, I knew he was hiding something down there because he would never let me or August go down there but I didn’t expect….” Ruby said, feeling a little queasy as she recalled the people her and August had imprisoned for him that would go missing after a while. She always thought Rumple had them taken somewhere, but not like this.

“So we need to get into that elevator then,” August said. “That’s going to make things a little more difficult. We’re going to have to join as one team until we find that key card or some other way to open the elevator. I think we need to bring harnesses, pulleys, and a metal laser cutter, maybe some C4 just in case.” 

“A taser might come in handy too. I just hope we can get Regina to before it’s too late. Rumple is not going to leave Regina unguarded. We are going to need to be more stealthy than presumed.” 

They heard the familiar crackling that a message was trying to come through on each of their devices. Emma picked hers up; it was Snow. 

“Just reporting we are half an hour away so start getting ready” Snow told them. 

Ruby picked up her device. “Snow, we have a change of plans. With the information gathered from the scouts, we believe Regina is being kept deep below the surface in a torture chamber. The only way to reach her is through an elevator which is highly restricted. To get the key card we will need to hope that Rumple has left one in his office. Otherwise, we must break into the elevator and use what we have to get to the bottom.” 

They heard Snow take a sharp breath in. “He still has that! I thought David and I had managed to shut it down. I understand. I will provide cover if need be. Just be ready and make sure you stay undiscovered until I tell you it’s safe to join us.” 

“Affirmative, We will wait on your call Snow,” August told her. He knew now that if they had any chance of getting this to work his team would need to help Emma as much as possible.

“Good luck,” Snow signed out. 

Emma looked at August and Ruby. Their faces must have reflected her expression; this was going to be tough.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regina had just had her first daily dose of torture. Her body was on fire but at least this time they stopped before she blacked out. She knew this just meant the worst was yet to come. They always started slowly. It’s like they thrived off her pain. She never thought anyone could be as sadistic as Rumple but apparently, he had found many accomplices. 

She was left alone when they were done; a rare occasion where Regina was left in silence by herself. She knew guards waited outside the doors but for now, she felt like she could breathe a little easier. Rumple had stopped the “Emma” audio. She heard nothing but the pipes, which were now a welcomed sound compared to Emma’s voice telling her how much she hated her, or Rumple’s heavy breathing while he stared at her. 

It wasn’t long enough until the silence was disturbed by one of the guards and their communicators turning on. She could hear the voices on the other side of the door, just, but she heard the words “Snow” and “urgent.” There had been so many times over the last few days that she had tricked herself into thinking she was going to be saved, this time she wasn’t going to set herself up for disappointment. She hung there and tried her best to numb herself from everything. For some reason, the pipes sounded louder. The guards outside her door seemed to be talking about something but it just sounded like mumbles through the metal door. What confused her was that usually, by now, Rumple would be sitting back in front of her. She was sure of it. He hadn’t left her alone for this long before without something to replace him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snow had just sent them the signal that they had landed. Emma knew from here on out it all hung on Snow and how long she could keep them distracted. The Baelfire landed their ship somewhere outside of the building's perimeters. The team grabbed the equipment they needed. David was to let them into the building but they needed the signal from him to know it was safe for them to precede. They made their way to the safe point where they could enter the area. 

Emma and August led the group towards the opening where David stood ready waiting for them. Where he led them was to a quiet hallway. In the distance, Emma could hear the voices. Most of them rushed to see who was in the ship that had randomly turned up. 

“Rumple was one of the first people outside. I think Snow can hold them off but I don’t know for how long, so we best get to work.” David said as he shut the door behind them. They made their way to the area where Rumple’s office was, and as expected, it was guarded. 

Emma thought quickly. “Okay, we need someone to walk into the middle of them and distract them, the rest of us grab tasers and take them out. There is a cell nearby where we lock them up, bound and gagged,” Emma said. 

“I’ll go, I’m great at making up distractions,” Ruby said with an impish look on her face. 

“Okay, go!” Emma said and Ruby walked brazenly down the hall. Emma watched her using a small mirror. Ruby approached the men who immediately noticed her. 

“Ma’am you shouldn't be down here,” One of them said to her and stepped away from his place. The others joined him. 

But Ruby continued. “I think you’ll find I am allowed here,” Ruby said, making her way further down the hallway to make sure all of the guards had their back to Emma. 

Emma signaled to the rest that they could move forward. They slowly snuck up behind the guards whilst Ruby continued distracting them.

The guard asked Ruby, “Are you? What makes you think that?” 

Ruby stopped in front of them. “Because I said so.” 

Before they knew it, the team tasered them to the floor. 

“Quick, duct tape their mouths and drag them into the cell. alNeal, get to breaking into Rumple’s office.” Emma commanded. 

Everyone did as she asked as quickly as they could.

It took alNeal no time at all to override the security lock. Everyone went into the office.

“Ok, we need to try and find the key card. Search everything,” David said. Everyone on the team searched for the key card but came up empty-handed.

“There’s nothing here!” Mulan said. 

“Keep looking,” Emma said desperately.

“We don’t have that time. What are we going to do?” August said. 

Emma found an object that looked like a crowbar. She grabbed it and ran out of the office. 

“Where are you going!” Ruby yelled. They all followed after her. 

Emma went to the elevator and started to use the crowbar to pry open the doors. August began to try and help Emma open the door. When Neal walked up, he cracked open the security panel.

“Let me give it a try like this first…”

August let go of the crowbar and stepped back. Emma kept trying to force open the door. 

“Emma, let alNeal hack into the system,” David said as he put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged him off.

“We don’t have time!!!” Emma said, her voice strained as she pulled with all her might at the crowbar. 

“Emma, Emma,” Ruby came up to try and calm Emma down. “Save your strength. We have time. Don’t lose focus, or you’ll get careless.”

She reluctantly stopped, her eyes welling with tears. “You’re right. I need to calm down. We made it this far. We will make it.”

They all waited on alNeal. It seemed like an eternity. But they let him do his thing. After a few moments, Neal looked at Emma. “This is ironclad. It also looks like Rumple has an alert notification for anyone who uses the elevator, even if they have a keycard. I can work around and open the doors, but once the elevator car moves up or down, it registers.”

“We brought the pulleys and cables. We can rappel down the shaft, depending on where the car is,” Mulan suggested. 

“And what if it’s up instead of down? How will we get through?” Ruby asked.

August said as he started down the hallway, “I saw an armory closet near the cells, let me see what I can find.” 

“Hold up! Fuck. This is taking too long. alNeal, open the doors. We have no choice. We have to see what we are working with. Come on...” Emma chanted as he opened the doors.

There was no car. Emma popped her head to look down, “WOOHOO! The car is down below. Let’s get the cables out and rappel down. alNeal, open the doors down below too. You sure you can?” 

“Yes, but if not, I can easily open them from the inside.”

“Wait,” David said. “If the car is down there, then that means nobody has come up. I am certain Regina is still being guarded. Neal, if you are certain you can open the doors from the inside, let's keep them closed. Open doors on their own might give away that we are coming.”

“Great thinking!” Emma said. 

Mulan set up the cables for all of them to slide down the shaft. Once on top of the elevator, Mulan loosened the metal escape hatch and they all slowly lowered into the elevator car. Neal got working on the panel.

Emma pulled out her pistol and attached her silencer. “Hold on Neal. Give us a moment to get ready.” 

Neal nodded as the rest of them pulled out their weapons and did the same as Emma. 

When Emma gave the signal, Neal opened the doors. David insisted on going first, with August flanking him. Mulan, stuck by Ruby and Emma, and Neal followed behind. They all made their way down the dark, damp tunnel. It looked just as Emma had remembered as a child, and it unsettled her. It took all she had not to run down the hallway to Regina and save her because it was without a doubt where Rumple had been torturing her. She tried to keep the thought of finding Regina dead out of her head.

David slowed down as they came to a bend in the hallway, signaling for them to stop. He pulled out a mirror so he could look around the corner. “I see two guards. That must be where Regina is. What do you think, August, think we can take them?”

“Without a doubt,” August replied. 

“The two of you, stay alert as a backup,” David said to the rest of the team. 

David held up his fingers and counted down from three. As they jumped into the hallway, they surprised the guards. Before the last guard even hit the floor Emma darted down the hall to the metal door they were guarding. 

“Regina!” She called out and banged on the door. She heard a moan come from inside. “Neal opened this door quickly!” Emma was more on edge now that she had the entire mission. 

Neal got to work on the panel. “Wow. This is a code I can’t seem to hack. It keeps changing rapidly, I can’t keep up.” 

Emma refrained from yelling at him out of frustration. Instead, she banged on the door, calling out Regina’s name, “Why can’t you answer me? Regina!”

The rest of the team watched, helpless to do anything. Even Ruby couldn’t tell Emma to calm down, because she would probably be in the same state of mind.

“I GOT IT!” Neal yelled, and the door slid open. 

Emma ran inside. When she saw Regina chained to the wall, her heart stopped. Regina was limp and lifeless. Her eyes filled with tears as she quickly made her way to Regina. “Nonononono, Regina, answer me...are you alive? I’m here, we are here for you.” Regina still didn’t answer. Emma shouted louder, “REGINA!” 

Regina twitched and looked up at Emma. Her eyes were dark, bloodshot, and her face was pale and drawn. Emma noticed the gown she was wearing was spotted with blood. Her anger flared. “Damn it! Someone come and help me get her down, NOW!” 

Ruby and Mulan ran in and started to work on Regina’s restraints. When they got her free, Emma was there to catch her. She cradled her close and gently as she pulled her down to the ground with her. “Regina, what did they do to you? Tell me you are alright? We are here to save you.” Emma brushed her cheek gently with the back of her hand. She saw multiple cut marks and bruising. 

The brunette only reacted with twitches and groans. She was too weak to talk or move. But then she managed to take a quick glance up at Emma and a small smile crossed her face. 

It took everything in Emma not to cry. Emma refocused and realized that getting her out was going to be difficult in this condition, but they needed to do it right away. She did her best to carry Regina without hurting her. She felt like sobbing at the sight of how horrible she looked, but she knew she couldn’t. She needed to get Regina to safety.


	35. chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

It did take them a little longer to get out of the building, but they didn’t need to sneak around anymore. The entire building had erupted in chaos; guards were trying to stop people from leaving or people turning to violence to stop the guards. Clearly Rumple had given the guards the command to stop them any way they could. 

But none of this daunted Emma. Regina was in her arms and all Emma was focused on was getting her out. The rest of the team surrounded Emma and Regina, forming a protective shield around them as they rushed through the building as best as they could. The way in which they came had been destroyed, so they were looking for another way to escape. Fortunately most of the team knew the layout of the build. Ruby was able to lead them towards an area that was a little less chaotic. Emma continued her tunnel vision as the team led her through the madness. People around her were fighting and running, or falling dead all around her but she didn’t take any of it in. It was the best way she knew how to cope to save the woman she loved in her arms.

Once they reached the outside the chaos continued. There was debris everywhere too; a trail of debris scattered that consisted of uniforms, regular clothing, and other personal items, along with work related stuff, like clipboards, staplers, and an lots of paper. It looked like people fled for their lives once they found out they were working for a monster. The team continued to be quick about their escape when Ruby broke formation and suddenly stopped. The team stopped with her and noticed she was looking at something to the left of them. Emma snapped out of her tunnel vision and glanced at what it was. It was Rumple who had Snow cornered. She heard David gasp and he looked at Emma who looked at him too. He didn’t run to save Snow as he expected him to. 

“David, go save your wife,” Emma told him.

“But I need to protect my daughter,” he said, tears welling up in his eyes.

Emma understood and it meant the world to her that he would make that choice to choose her. But she wouldn’t want to lose her mother just yet. “Go, dad, we will be fine.” 

David left her, but not before looking at her proudly. David took off in a sprint and reached his wife in no time. 

“Step away from my wife!” Emma heard David shout. 

Rumple turned his head toward them, calmly. He had no fear in his eyes, just his cold arrogance. But David landed a blow to his jaw, and his look turned to surprise. Rumple crashed to the ground. David stood over the older man. 

“You lay a hand on her and I’ll make you wish you were never alive!” 

It appeared that Rumple at this point should have laid hopelessly beneath him, but Rumple chuckled darkly at him. “You think I wasn’t ready for this?” 

David, confused, looked at Snow who wore a sad expression. Rumple turned his head to look at something in the distance. David followed his gaze and spotted four of Rumple’s guards emerging from hiding spots. David pulled out his weapon and aimed, bracing himself for a fight, but they didn’t come after him. They went after the team. David yelled, “NO!” 

August, Ruby, Mulan, and Neal moved to protect Emma and Regina as they fired their weapons at the rushing guards, who also fired back. Fortunately the team were good shots, and they killed all the guards. 

But then, Emma yelled, and Mulan whipped around. There was another guard who came from the side going after Emma. Mulan put herself between them and was able to shove the woman backward. She didn’t fall, but stumbled towards Ruby, caught her balance, and then grabbed Ruby from behind, putting her in a chokehold and holding a gun to her head. 

Mulan was mortified and angry at her weak response. She should have shot the guard right away. She would fix her mistake.

“Put down your weapons, all of you, or you know what will happen,” the guard barked an order.

They all dropped their weapons to the ground. Mulan didn’t take her eye off the guard. They heard Rumple laughing in the distance. 

“You see, I always win,” Rumple told David, who, while David was watching the events unfold with his team, had drawn his weapon on David. “Tell your team to not try anything stupid.” 

But before David had a chance to tell them what Rumple wanted, he saw Mulan charge the guard.

Mulan had a knife in her jacket and was not afraid of hand to hand combat, especially when it came to protecting the life of a loved one. She knew she was fast and could stab the guard faster than she could react.

David looked back at Rumple, his face twisted in anger. He lifted his weapon and aimed for David’s heart. But suddenly, he was throttled by Snow, and caused him to miss his target. Snow wrestled Rumple to the ground in a half-nelson. She was choking him so hard that his eyes were turning red, and his face was going blue. David let her until he passed out. It made it easier to apprehend him, and it was an effective way to shut him up. 

The missed fire made its way towards the team.

Mulan never stopped looking at the guard. She had an intense stare, and she made the guard nervous. At the sound of the weapon discharging, the guard dropped Ruby, and was about to run, but Mulan managed to get the knife in her gut, and twisted the blade. When Ruby looked up though, both Mulan and the guard had fallen to the ground. 

Ruby pulled at Mulan’s body, “Mulan, Mulan! What’s wrong? Get up…” Her hand felt wet and warm. It was blood. She pulled Mulan to her lap, and saw blood coming out of her mouth. She started to yell, “Oh my God, no! Why, what happened, but you got her, baby, you got her…” Ruby started to sob.

August made his way to his sister and looked Mulan over. She was bleeding from her back. “This is a gunshot. I think this came from Rumple’s gun.”

guards walking up behind the other. Once the guard was spotted she went to grab Ruby who was helping Emma with Regina, but before he could grab her Mulan stepped in between and pushed the man backward. She did her best to defect any move he made towards her or Ruby. The guard pulled out a gun and held it up to Ruby. 

Mulan pulled out her knife she had hidden in her jacket. She was always taught to act before the other person could before she could even register what she was doing. She lunged forward and managed to pierce through the Guards clothes and into his stomach and twisted her blade. As soon as she lunged forward however Rumple had brought out his pistol and managed to shoot her before David dove to get it. The bullet flew through the air and landed right in between Mulan’s shoulder blades. She fell to her knees Ruby fell with her managing to catch her before she hit the floor. 

“Mulan! Hold on we can help you, stay with me please!” Ruby shouted at her. Mulan slowly looked up at Ruby. She weakly reached up to Ruby’s face. Ruby took her hand and pressed it to her cheek, tears streaming down her face. “Thank you, but don’t leave me, damn you.” Mulan gave the smallest of smiles, and then she closed her eyes. Ruby looked at August who knelt beside her. “Please we need to save her, she saved me,” Ruby said in distress. 

“We need to get her back to the ship,” August said. He picked up Mulan, hoping it wasn’t too late. She didn’t feel alive, but he couldn’t tell his sister that. 

Snow came sprinting over to them, with David carrying Rumple over his shoulder. 

Emma felt rage at what she witnessed. 

Snow asked Emma. “Oh my God, is Regina alright, and what is wrong with Mulan?!” 

“Regina is alive. I’m not so sure about Mulan. I think Rumple’s bullet hit her.”

Snow put her hands up to her mouth, “No! When I pushed him...I didn’t mean for…” 

Ruby put her hand on Snow’s shoulder, “It was an accident. You said there would be casualties. We did our best, she did better than most.” Ruby went to August carrying Mulan. She pushed her hair back and fell on August holding her and wept. 

Rumple started to wiggle in David’s arms. Emma was the first to notice. She started to let Regina down slowly, “Mom, help me. Hold Regina for a second.” 

Snow supported Regina as Emma made her way to Rumple’s face over David’s shoulder. She took him by the hair to life his head up to her, “Wake up!”   
She screamed, and then landed a punch square on his chin. 

David threw him to the ground and let his daughter take care of him for a second. This woke Rumple up. He had fear in his eyes, unlike Emma had ever seen him. This made her feel victorious. They had won. They finally broke him. She still wanted to punch him again for what he had done to Regina, what he did to Mulan, to all of them, for everything. She was going to go for another punch, but then Neal came up and put his boot on Rumple’s head. Emma looked up and saw that Neal had his weapon drawn at his father and he was looking dead into Rumple's eyes. 

Rumple looked dazed for a few moments and then it looked like someone had just flipped a switch in his head. “Baelfire?” He said, his voice breaking a little. 

“Hey, Dad,” Neal said before pressing the trigger and silencing his father forever.

“NO!” Emma screamed but not in time to stop Neal. Neal lowered the gun slowly and looked over to Snow and David who couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. 

“Neal?” Emma said in a weak voice. Neal looked at her with dark eyes. 

“He needed to pay for his crimes the way he treated people–as unworthy and no mercy.” He said, his voice calm and measured. He dropped the gun and slowly walked backward. “He will never harm anyone ever again.”

Everyone was stunned and didn’t know what to say. This was certainly not the way that they thought Rumple would be brought to justice. 

Emme then heard Regina’s voice. “He’s gone.” Her voice was cracked and sore from dehydration. Emma made her way over to her. They looked at each other for a long moment before Emma put her arms around Regina’s shoulders. Regina flinched away at first but then let herself rest in Emma’s arms. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snow helped David find a way to wrap Rumple’s body and carry it in a stretcher back to her ship. 

Emma carried Regina back to the ship, although she insisted she was well enough to walk herself. Regina was in no condition to fight, ergo, walk on her own. August carried Mulan back to the ship, with Ruby following, mournful that she couldn’t be saved. Snow had promised that once they got back to the planet, she would have a hero’s funeral. 

The fleet and teams rendezvous at the space station. It was easier than they thought convincing people of Rumple’s evilness and nefarious plans. There had already been talk and rumors, so when the legendary Snow and David appeared alive, it took little convincing that their hunches were true. Those loyal to Rumple, such as Captain George, had been locked away, ready to turn over to the government.

On earth, there had been quite a lot of casualties, most of the guards. Their injured were being accounted for and taken care of either on the ship, or space station. 

Neil insisted that the Baelfire be destroyed. It was a memento of his father that he would rather forget, especially since it was named after him. Snow agreed. Neil was able to rig it so that it flew on autopilot, safely away from the fleet, space station, and earth, and then self-destruct. Everyone was moved out of the ship as Neil worked on it. A week later, they all watched it take its last flight and explode in the distance.

Regina had been taken to the station infirmary, as it was better equipped to handle her injuries. She was told that she needed a few days for monitoring and rehydration. She sustained some internal injuries, but technologically, they were easy to repair. As she underwent treatment, Emma was able to be there with her, holding her hand through all of it. Regina didn’t say a word the entire time. Regina had not said much to her since. Emma wanted her to talk to her about what had happened, but she waited patiently. Maybe she would never tell her. It was a torture chamber. She was injured, chained to a wall...she couldn’t imagine what that would do to one’s psyche. But she wasn’t going to give up on Regina, ever.

Snow popped in to see if Emma wanted food or drink. She already did this several times over, but every time Emma declined; she was too focused on Regina. When she visited this time, Zelena was with her. 

This time, Snow had something else to ask Emma, although it was more of something she felt she needed to do. “Emma I know you don’t want to leave her side right now but I think Ruby would appreciate it if you went to see her. She is suffering too. She has locked herself in her room and won’t let anyone in, not even August. But he told me he thinks she will let you in.” 

“She needs you,” Regina said quietly, “If that were me, she would be right next to you.” 

“I agree. If she is like your sister as you say, you best go to her. I would be very pissed at Regina if she didn’t come when I needed her,” Zelena said, making Regina slightly chuckle. “I’m right here, she won’t be alone.”

Emma nodded knowing Regina and Zelena were right; if something had happened to Regina back there Ruby would have been the first person to offer her a shoulder to cry on. She had always been there for Emma. Emma kissed Regina’s lips softly before standing up and following Snow to the room Ruby had hidden in. 

She knocked on the door lightly not wanting to scare Ruby. 

“Hey Ruby, can I come in?” Emma asked just loud enough that Ruby could hear her on the other side. Emma heard soft footsteps on the other side of the door which slowly opened to reveal a red face Ruby who immediately pulled Emma into her arms and began sobbing. 

“She saved me,” Ruby whimpered. Emma rubbed her back soothingly and shut the door behind her.

“I know Rubes she was amazing, I’m going to miss her,” Emma said sadly feeling her own eyes start to tear up. Ruby broke away from Emma a little and led her to the small sofa. She sat down and Emma sat next to her.

“She made me so happy, I felt like I was complete when she was around. She was so strong and beautiful. She had fought so hard to get to where she was just to have some monster take it away in a flash. IT’S NOT FAIR!” Ruby screamed. 

“That monster is dead and gone now. Justice has been served. All we can do now is give her the funeral she deserves and we’ll tell her story so everyone will know that she was a warrior. She fought to protect the ones she loved no matter what the cost.” Ruby didn’t say anything and just flopped against Emma who pulled her in tight. “We’ll get through this Ruby. She helped us get our new beginning, we need to make sure we don’t let her death be in vain.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mulan’s funeral was bittersweet, they all gave speeches telling stories of their times together. She was sent off into space in her coffin following the others who had to say goodbye to that day. They all watched as the coffins floated away from them. Emma remembered thinking if it wasn’t so sad it would have been beautiful.

It was a long two days before they got back home. Emma and Regina were greeted by Henry who came running up to them at the sight of Regina. He looked over her cautiously and slowly approached her with his arms open. Regina slowly knelt and engulfed Henry in her arms tightly. Scared that if she let him go she would never get to see him again. 

Emma bent down and wrapped her arms around them both, she couldn't describe how glad she was that they were together again. She knew it would make Regina a while to recover from what happened to her but she knew that with her and Henry beside her Regina was going to be okay.


	36. epilogue

Epilogue   
Two years later

Regina and Emma were standing in the office working on the new ship, they were designing a ship that was going to act like an ambulance to get people who are injured or ill out in space, back to earth in time and give them their best chance of survival. Snow had been helping them but they hadn’t seen her that morning. They were trying their best to work out what kind of engine which would keep the ship stable but also be able to travel at a fast enough speed to reach the earth in a day. They were close to figuring out what to do when Snow came storming in with David on her tail. 

“Girls, David, and I have been thinking and we need to discuss something with you,” Snow began as she walked in. Emma and Regina looked up and there both thinking ‘here we go again’. Every time Snow had that look on her face it meant she had come up with something else that was most likely going to take them many sleepless nights and tired days to work out. 

“Morning Mom, nice to see you are alive” Emma had said to her with a smirk. Snow dismissed her comment and came to sit on the table next to them. David came to stand behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. 

“We should take over the SRDSP and turn it into something better. We were thinking maybe a school for kids with nowhere else to go. A place they can feel safe and get a good education. We will offer them job training with us once they are old enough or help them look for ways to get into the career they want to follow,” Snow said enthusiastically. 

“That sounds like a great idea Mom” Emma said to her with a smile. She thought about how many kids they could help. 

“Would kids who aren’t orphans or such be able to join. If we are to do something like this I think we should try to help as many people as possible. I know what it is like for kids with no parents to feel dejected and different so we could make sure we teach them that they are all equal and that everyone stands a chance at doing what they love,” Regina asked remembering the stories she had heard from Emma about how she was treated differently because she was orphaned and how she remembered the other kids with no parents being treated too. She wanted to make sure everyone felt accepted.

“Of course we will teach morals and manners at our school. No one is superior to anyone for any reason. As long as you work hard and do your best you can be whoever you want to be. That something I used to say to Emma before we had to leave,” Snow said, looking a little guilty at the end. Emma stood up and went to hug her parents. Snow smiled, glad her daughter finally forgave them. “That is not the best part. We were thinking maybe you guys would be staff members. Regina, we believe you would make a great principle and Emma well maybe a professor teaching young pilots? We were thinking maybe some of your old crew joined you as well? Neal has already offered to teach engineering,” Snow said with a look of hope on her face. 

Emma looked at Regina who pondered it a while. 

“Would my son be able to enroll?” She asked knowing how much Henry would love it. 

“Of course as long as there is no favoritism,” Snow said with a smirk. She was fond of Henry. He was so curious, and always with someone learning about tech or in their library reading.

“No son of mine will get favoritism. He will be treated like the rest,” Regina said, knowing Snow knew how much she wanted Henry to do well in school. 

“Then it’s settled. It will take us some time to rebuild it but we believe that we can have it done in a year.” 

David and Snow were pleased with their acceptance. 

“So what are you guys working on?” David said, becoming interested in the spaceship they were designing. 

“What we have been working on for the last past three months. We’ve almost got the engine perfected, we just need to make sure it's safe.” Regina said with a chuckle.

Snow laughed with her. “I’ll get Neal to look at it. Why don't you guys take the day off and enjoy your first ever wedding anniversary?” 

The two women looked at each other with red faces. 

“I completely forgot, I’m so sorry!” Regina said to Emma who sniggered. 

“Don’t worry, I forgot too,” Emma said, pulling Regina in to hug her. 

“Well, lucky for you someone did remember,” Snow said just as David went to open the door and in walked Henry holding a bouquet wearing a tiny suit. He walked over to his Moms who were almost crying at how sweet and adorable their son was. 

He gave them the flowers with a grin on his face. “Grandma helped me to reserve a table at Granny’s for you, and Ruby helped me pick out your presents which are waiting at home for you,” Henry said with a wide smile. 

“Well, we best get ready then. Thank you my little angel what would we do without you?” Regina said, pulling him in for a cuddle.

“You are truly the best pilot any co-pilot could ask for,” Emma said as she joined the hug.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Captain and the Pilot](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26199025) by [TheConscienceThing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheConscienceThing/pseuds/TheConscienceThing)




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